LATEST ADDITIONS

Melville, NY&ndash;based manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.josephaudio.com"&gt; Joseph Audio</A> announced September 1 that the company was "pleased to accept the 'Best Sound at Show' award as determined by the votes of attendees" at the Home Entertainment 2001 event held in May at the NY Hilton. "We're deeply grateful that so many at the show felt that our RM33si Signature at $7500/pair was worthy of such an honor," said company president <A HREF="mailto:Josephaud@aol.com">Jeff Joseph</A>.

In his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/403/">Conrad-Johnson Premier Eleven power amplifier</A>, Wes Phillips comes clean and admits that he loves to be seduced by sound. Phillips writes, "Now, I'm not proposing that we embrace coloration . . . but the removal of all pleasure-producing tonalities doesn't necessarily make for increased realism."

Classical music fans will be happy to learn that Vivendi Universal has decided to give two of its classical labels a state-of-the-art web facelift. <A HREF="http://www.deccaclassics.com">Decca</A&gt; and <A HREF="http://www.philipsclassics.com">Philips Classics</A> are combining their resources and launching a single new site this month designed by trendy web developer Razorfish.

I'll never forget my first encounter with the Krell LAT-1 loudspeaker. Late one Friday night last fall, on City Island in the Bronx, it was time for the monthly meeting of the Westchester Audiophile Society and I was late. I rushed through the door past a group of audiophiles and headed straight for the two new black loudspeakers already set up and ready to play. Music writer and society member Sid Marks made a sound. I turned to him and he pointed across the room: "Go tap on that enclosure." I walked over to one of the black speakers and did so. There was no sound&mdash;no give, no nothing. It was as if I'd knocked on a granite boulder. "See what I mean?" said Sid. I nodded. There was nothing to add.

I like stories with happy endings.

Now that satellite radio services <A HREF="http://www.xmradio.com">XM Radio</A> and <A HREF="http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Radio</A> have their "birds" in position, they are encountering a slew of unexpected roadblocks here on earth. Among the problems: loss of signal in tunnels and urban canyons, interference with wireless communications, and a lighting technology that emits strong radio waves close to the broadcasters' assigned bands.

In his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/398/">Cary Audio Design CAD-300SEI integrated amplifier</A>, Robert Harley admits up front that he's been "biased against single-ended tube amplifiers because of their quirky measured performances." Can the Cary redeem itself and the SET approach with a single hearing? Harley reports, with a "Follow-Up" from Jonathan Scull.