LATEST ADDITIONS

Simaudio has been doing well in the middle of the high-end market, providing products such as their Moon i-5 integrated amplifier (<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/620">reviewed by Chip Stern</A> in July 2002), which offers a glimpse of high-quality sound at an affordable price. That's not to say that the Canadian manufacturer neglects the cost-no-object market: the two-box, $5700, Simaudio Moon Eclipse CD player impressed the heck out of Brian Damkroger when <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/343">he reviewed it</A> for <I>Stereophile</I> in April 2001 (with a Follow-Up in April 2003). So when Simaudio's Lionel Goodfield offered me their Moon Equinox player ($2000) for inclusion in my irregular series of CD-player reviews (footnote 1), I didn't need to be asked twice.

Twenty years ago, the introduction of the compact disc put the music world on a new path. Not long after its debut, <A HREF="http://www.meridian-audio.com">Meridian Audio Ltd.</A> launched the world's first audiophile CD player, the MCD. That player and others that followed drew audiophiles into the digital age.

From the September 1992 issue, Corey Greenberg checks in with a review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/992dynaco">Dynaco Stereo 70 II power amplifier</A>. According to CG, "Panor's Stereo 70 II reissue looks similar to a vintage Dyna, but contains several circuit additions claimed to improve the original design's performance."

Last week we asked about your favorite review. As promised, this week we'd like to know what your <I>least</I> favorite equipment review in <I>Stereophile</I> has been.

I'm starting to hate computers. They take up all my time. Whether I'm writing, preparing classes to teach, toying with computer-generated music, managing finances, or (too often) upgrading hardware, I'm spending too much time in the computer chair, not enough in the listening chair.

I dig tube amps. When all's said and done, good tube amps seem to sound more like real life than most solid-state gear; even after listening to and enjoying the hell out of musical solid-state designs like the Audio Research D-240 II and the Muse Model One Hundred, once I hook up the big VTL Deluxe 225s again it's just like going home. I could go on about timbral accuracy and clearer midrange textures, but the bottom line is, music just plain <I>sounds better</I> when you shoot it through good tubes, and once most people experience that magic, they're hooked.

I dig tube amps. When all's said and done, good tube amps seem to sound more like real life than most solid-state gear; even after listening to and enjoying the hell out of musical solid-state designs like the Audio Research D-240 II and the Muse Model One Hundred, once I hook up the big VTL Deluxe 225s again it's just like going home. I could go on about timbral accuracy and clearer midrange textures, but the bottom line is, music just plain <I>sounds better</I> when you shoot it through good tubes, and once most people experience that magic, they're hooked.