LATEST ADDITIONS

John Atkinson, you were right the first time ("Letters," <I>Stereophile</I>, December 1997, p.17, footnote 1): Jeremy Bentham is, indeed, the famous English philosopher and legal theorist whose mummified remains are preserved at the University of London. Sitting in a large glass display case, Bentham has been holding court since his death in 1832. As you noted, Bentham looks deceptively like a waxwork. But this is because his head, in fact, <I>is</I> made of wax. The original, rumor has it, suffered through one very macabre rugby game played long ago by mischievous students.

For years now, Internet users willing to walk on the audio wild side have had access to millions of illicit music files via peer-to-peer file-trading services. But those who have tried to find locate of the commercial sources for online music files have found their choices limited.

On July 25, New York State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer announced that Sony BMG Entertainment had agreed to "stop making payments and providing expensive gifts to radio stations and their employees in return for 'airplay' for the company's songs."

Several <A HREF="http://cgi.stereophile.com/cgi-bin/showoldvotes.cgi">recent surveys</A> on the <I>Stereophile</I> website have uncovered a surprising trend among audiophiles: Many of you are heading online to both used- and new-product vendors to make equipment purchases that have traditionally been made at specialty audio retailers.

Once again, audiophiles can help themselves and help others at the same time by participating in The Cable Company's 10th annual "Summer Against Hunger" campaign. <A HREF="http://www.fatwyre.com/">The Cable Company</A> and a wide cross-section of its vendors (listed below) have set up a program in which up to 10% of The Cable Company's August sales are donated to <A HREF="http://www.careusa.org/">CARE</A&gt; and the <A HREF="http://www.theirc.org/">International Rescue Committee</A>, with contributions to be used to assist the worldwide disaster relief efforts of those humanitarian organizations. This year, the situation is more critical than ever.

At the last few audio shows, whenever I heard a pair of the big Cary CAD-1610-SEs, I fair licked my chops. The two-tiered monoblock looked positively stunning in black and polished aluminum, exotic tubes bristling from the top "floor" of its two-story edifice. The Cary always induced pelvic tilt in me&mdash;you know, when your lizard brain takes over and tube lust is in the air.

Scratch an audiophile and, chances are, you'll find a closet Wilson Audio fan. The <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/477">Wilson WATT/Puppy</A> would probably make almost anyone's list of the most significant high-end loudspeaker designs. David Wilson first built his reputation with the custom-built WAMM loudspeaker&mdash;a monumental piece invariably included with products like the Infinity IRS, Genesis I, and Apogee Grand when the world's most awesome loudspeakers are discussed. But it was the WATT, followed by the WATT/Puppy&mdash;the latter now <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/920">several generations improved</A> over the original design&mdash;that really put the company on the high-end audio map.