LATEST ADDITIONS

It's now 10 years since the launch of the two high-resolution audio disc formats, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/164">SACD</A&gt; and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/1099awsi">DVD-Audio</A&gt;. Yet, perhaps partly because both were <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/257">hobbled in various ways</A> to please the record industry, perhaps partly because too many supposed hi-rez releases sounded no better than CD, and perhaps partly because record retailers weren't sure how to display the formats to their best advantage, neither took off in any substantive way. DVD-A disappeared, and SACD survived only as a niche format for high-quality classical releases in both two- and multichannel forms. As we got deeper into the same decade, digital technology, despite various sparks and flashes, went into the doldrums. Mainstream digital technology was increasingly concerned with squashing the music into fewer and more portable bits, not with increased sound quality. Even the concept of "CD sound quality" began to seem an unattainable goal, as <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/features/308mp3cd">MP3 files</A> became the dominant music carrier.

<B>Anouar Brahem: <I>The Astounding Eyes of Rita</I></B><BR>
Anouar Brahem, oud; Klaus Gesing, bass clarinet; Bj&#246;rn Meyer, bass; Khaled Yassine, darbouka, bendir<BR>
ECM 2075 (CD). 2009. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Stefano Amerio, eng. DDD. TT: 53:31<BR>
Performance ****<BR>
Sonics *****

Though the January 2010 issue of Stereophile will be hitting newsstands before the holidays, this is nominally the last issue of 2009. But already in October, on my return flight from Denver to New York following this year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, it struck me that 2009 had not been a good year for the world of high-end audio. Yes, the worldwide recession has bit deep into the economic health of audio manufacturers and retailers, but in the past 12 months too many of those who have helped make our hobby great, and have helped promote our shared passion for listening to music with as high a quality as possible, have breathed their last.

<i>Where did I hide that Replacements record, dammit?</i>

Oh yeah: <a href="http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2009/12/09/this-christmas-just-g… having a holiday sale.

The face was different, but the look was familiar. It should have been. The $2395 Aria Mk.III is a close cousin to the Aria II that I'd hung around with for about two years. Same sense of style, same heart of tubes. CAL Audio apparently made it what it is today, from the ground up. They even designed its transport and transport-drive circuitry in-house (footnote 1). In a high-end world which has gone increasingly to separate digital processors, CAL has been, up till now, a conspicuous holdout. They've only recently introduced their first outboard converter, and have in the past argued in favor of the all-in-one player. Something about reduced jitter from all the timing circuits being under one roof.

<I>Stereophile</I> has released its 2009 "Products of the Year" (<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/features/istereophileis_products_of_2009/">a… to the website last week</A>). The reviewers and editors have made their choices, so what is yours?