LATEST ADDITIONS

Brian Damkroger finds that, while struggling unsuccessfully to fit the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/370/">Conrad-Johnson Premier 17LS line-stage preamplifier</A> into his preconceived notions of the company and its products, a paradigm shift in his thinking occurred. Damkroger explains that "it was only during a marathon session of listening and comparing the C-J to a couple of other preamps that the truth dawned on me . . . I went back and forth between the C-J and the other units several times over the course of the next week, and one evening it hit me." The truth awaits.

The jazz world mourns the passing of tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, who died late Saturday June 30 in San Francisco. He was 64.

On Monday, July 2, 2001, Primedia announced that it has agreed to acquire emap usa from Emap plc. This transaction, which will create the second largest magazine company in the United States, is currently under a customary regulatory review. It is expected to close during the third quarter of the calendar year.

It may be true that baby-boomers yearn to relive their childhoods, but how many aging wanted-to-be rock stars and music lovers still like to play with dolls? <A HREF="http://www.spawn.com">McFarlane Toys</A>, which made its mark creating and marketing Spawn merchandise, is hoping quite a few.

A year without profits, a revolving door on the top floor, and potentially massive layoffs all spell trouble for <A HREF="http://www.bmg.com">BMG Entertainment</A>.

Few topics will get audiophiles into an argument more readily than a discussion of the relative merits of tubed and solid-state equipment. A <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/showvote.cgi?189">poll</A&gt; on the <I>Stereophile</I> website showed 53% of respondents choosing solid-state as their preferred amplifier design, while 38% indicated a preference for tubes&mdash;the remainder choosing "other," which presumably means digital amplifiers. (There has been no corresponding survey regarding preamplifier designs.) Opinions tend toward the dogmatic, with one respondent declaring "solid-state is more accurate," another stating unequivocally that "tubes sound closer to the real thing."

"Preaching to the converted," I sighed to myself as I read the manual for the Stax Omega II Earspeaker headphone system. I fondly recalled my headphone reference for all time&mdash;the Most Fabulous and Seductive Sennheiser Orpheus tubed electrostatics, which Thomas J. Norton reviewed for <I>Stereophile</I> in 1994. I recalled the Orpheus's heady, open, fast, and colorfully wideband sound, and clutched my palpitating heart.