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...was the title of the seminar presented Sunday afternoon by Audio Precision's Jonathan Novick. Audio Precision manufactures high-performance test gear (including the systems used by <I>Stereophile</I> for its reviews) and Novick's presentation concerned, among other things, how graphs, as published by <I>Stereophile</I>, are more meaningful than single figures of merit and how conventional measurements can miss problems with amplifiers that are undoubtedly audible. I came away from this presentation with some ideas on how to improve the magazine's test regime, but most telling was Novick's final slide which paraphrased Albert Einstein: "Not all that matters can be measured. Not all that can be measured, matters!."

<I>Photograph: John Atkinson</I>

<I>Stereophile</I> editor John Atkinson in a pensive mood as he listens to Jonathan Reichbach of Sonic Studio/Amarra speak at the start of the <I>Advances in Computer Audio</I> seminar JA chaired on Sunday morning.

Galibier and Daedalus wanted to make sure they would not be missed. Their products surfaced, together and separately, in six different rooms in the top floor of the Marriott Tower.

Big does not mean five figures in Jolida's book. The most expensive equipment in their main exhibit on the second floor of the Marriott Tower were the Phase 6 Tape Deck from United Home Audio ($15,000) that was playing master tapes from The Tape Project, the Von Schweikert factory-direct VR33 loudspeakers ($3750/pair), and the Fosgate tube phono preamp ($2500).

Welcome to retro city. Not only did the Quad ESL2805 speakers ($10,000/pair), Classic II integrated amp ($6000) and QC24 phono stage ($2449) look from another era, but the equally classic-looking Merrill-Williams turntable ($4000), clamp ring ($649), weight ($249), and 33/45 power supply ($1150) was playing Frank Sinatra's "Days of Wine and Roses."

Here's an up-close look at the Merrill-Williams Audio table featured in the Quad room. The base is made of Rubber Elastomer Acoustic Laminate (aka R.E.A.L.&#151;got it?), and the platter of Bakelite resin composite. tHE outboard power transformer, clamping ring, etc. are not pictured. Despite its English-sounding name, the company is based in Memphis.