LATEST ADDITIONS

Conrad-Johnson launched the all-tube Premier 7 in 1988 as an all-out sonic assault on the state of the preamplifier art. A great deal has happened since then. For starters, C-J has gotten a great deal of feedback from customers, dealers, and reviewers. None other than <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/66">J. Gordon Holt</A> (<I>Stereophile</I>, November 1988, Vol.11 No.11) concluded that: "It appears that nothing which could possibly have improved its sound had been omitted....It is, in fact, about as close as any tubed preamp has come to being perfectly neutral in sound&mdash;in nearly all respects." In the now-defunct <I>Sounds Like...</I> (issue 3), Sam Burstein concluded that "It is, with certain reservations, absolutely delightful to one's musical senses." And, speaking of absolutes, even Harry Pearson gave the Premier 7 a rave in the first round of his preamplifier survey (<I>TAS</I>, issue 58). As icing on the cake, John Atkinson (<I>Stereophile</I>, Vol.12 No.8) concluded that the 7 had "the requisite degree of sonic magic to make it a Class A recommended preamplifier."

Recently we received an SOS from fearless leader John Atkinson. <I>Dolby is staging a press event on an evening I have a schedule conflict</I>, he wrote. <I>Could you attend in my stead?</I> As obligations go, attending an industry dinner is not exactly the most onerous task going&mdash;alcohol is frequently served (the best way to guarantee the press shows up) and you get to hang out with your fellow A/V journalists, an admittedly mixed blessing. What is not assured is that there will actually be news.

. . . Not Huckleberry.