Wes Phillips

Gerhard Feldmann’s Bösendorfer New York is partnering with the Jazz Foundation of America to donate the legendary "Blue Note" Bösendorfer to the JFA's inaugural auction benefit, which will be held November 16 at the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York City. Auction proceeds will support JFA non-profit programs, especially working gigs and educational programs for victims of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

Back in March, I wrote a reviewlet of Channel Islands Audio's VHP•1 headphone amplifier for the Stereophile eNewsletter. (What—you aren't receiving that free download yet? Well, log on to www.stereophile.com and opt in.) The VHP•1 has continued to enchant me—reason enough to examine it in greater detail, I reckoned. But the real reason I returned to the VHP•1 ($349) is that CIA's Dusty Vawter recently sent me his new VAC•1 ($159), a replacement power supply for the VHP•1's stock wall-wart supply. Could a new power supply really offer a substantial improvement in performance?

Ray Samuels Audio, long well-regarded for its tube-based home audio components, is developing a reputation for its portable designs, too. After reviewing the SR-71, I figured Samuels couldn't make things any smaller.

First Annual P2P Litigation Summit:: On November 3, the Northwestern University School of Law will host the one-day First Annual P2P Litigation Summit, sponsored by Privacy Resolutions, P.C. and Electronic Frontier Foundation.