LATEST ADDITIONS

I woke up this morning with the sun in my face and Heather Duby's "<a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/031908heatherduby/">Places Shape Lives</a>" churning through my mind. I heard the old moan of cello and the aching melody, the hypnotic precision of the just-tuned drums, the constant trembling of the strangled guitar, and I knew it would be a good day.

Wye Oak is a sort of American folk duo. Andy Stack plays drums and keys (at the same time), while Jenn Wasner sings and absolutely wails on the guitar. This is a video for their song, "Please Concrete," from their 2008 debut <i>If Children</i>.

Tell the truth, now: When you're traveling on vacation, and supposedly engaged only in the normal tourist activities of seeing the sights, visiting museums, etc., aren't you also on the lookout for interesting audio stores?

For most, being an audiophile is a hobby. But for some, it becomes much more—and might even support a family. If you could start your own audiophile company, what would it be?

Rather a mouthful, the name of this digital decoder is derived from that of the designer, Robert Wadia Moses. The "computer" part of the title relates to the custom digital filter function generated by a set of 32-bit microprocessors: for simplicity's sake, I shall abbreviate the name to "WD1000." A more expensive version, called the '2000, sells for $6995, and carries some additional features and details. The resampling rate is increased to 64x in the '2000, with the additional optical and digital input switching and the main power supplies each contained in separate additional enclosures.

Can a piece of studio gear find happiness on an audiophile's equipment stand? More important, can an audiophile derive satisfaction from its sound?

New York’s outdoor concert season is in full swing and I happened to catch a couple pretty wonderful shows, one free and just the opposite the other night.