Added to the Archives This Week

"Even right out of the box, it's obvious that the Wadia Digital 861 CD player is something special," writes Brian Damkroger in this month's issue. "Its heft and finish are beyond the usual high-end standards." But how about the sound?

Wes Phillips pops the latest RME Digi96/8 PAD computer soundcard into his PC and sets out to record some music. "As someone who had lusted after the most modest project studio for years—and since I was in the market for a new computer—I knew that a high-quality soundcard was in my future." Phillips reports on the sonic results.

"What kind of speaker can you get for $250/pair?" asks Wes Phillips as he is about to put the B&W DM302 loudspeaker to the test. The results soon prompted him to comment: "There's no getting around it: The B&W DM302 sounds awfully refined and musical for a speaker that costs so little."

How much of a difference makes a difference when it comes to evaluating audio equipment? JA ponders both sides of the debate in his "As We See It" from September 1994, The Importance of the Small Difference. "I've felt that the difference between an 'objectivist' and a 'subjectivist' is that the latter has had at one time in his or her life a mentor who could show them what to listen for."

Finally, the next installment in our "Recording of the Month" series for the online archives: Recording of January 1999, Santiago de Murcia: ¡Jácaras!.. Wes Phillips says that despite its origins in 17th century Spain, this acoustic guitar music is "definitely rock'n'roll."

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