LATEST ADDITIONS

If you ever find yourself in an audiophile-type argument and need proof that, in the 21st century, manufacturing high-performance audio gear to sell for a reasonable retail price is becoming an impossibility, point to Vincent T.A.C.'s TubeLine SV-236MK integrated amplifier, designed in Germany and built in China.

During <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/a_visit_to_mikeys_and_the_gla… visit to Michael Fremer's house</a>, alongside all the LPs and cables and enormous amplifiers, I found myself thinking: <i>If only others could experience this, here, like this, they'd understand what all the fuss is about...</i>

At Salon Son & Image, I had my ears opened to <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/ssi2009/the_nordost_difference/">the differences cables can make</a> when Nordost's Bruno de Lorimier demonstrated several of the company's interconnects, from the popular Blue Heaven ($230/1m pair) to the hallowed Valhalla ($5000/1m pair). I wrote:

I was very impressed by the hi-fi dealers I encountered while at the <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/ssi2009/">2009 Salon Son & Image</a> show in Montreal. Representatives from <a href="http://www.filtronique.com/en/default.asp">Son-Or-Filtronique</a&gt;, <a href="http://www.audiobasics.com/">Audio Basics</a>, and <a href="http://www.cdfaudio.com/">Coup de Foudre</a> seemed intelligent, enthusiastic, friendly, energetic, and cool: All qualities the high-end audio industry could use more of.

So, just when I start getting used to <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/my_new_rega_p3-24/">my white P3-24</a>, Rega goes and introduces three new high-gloss finishes: Orange, Blue, and Pink. Can you believe it? I feel kinda ripped-off. Had I known, I might've gone with Orange. I might've gone with Blue. I might've gone with Orange <i>and</i> blue. (Let's go Mets.) Hell, I'm in touch with my feminine side and secure in my masculinity; I might've gone with pink.

It's been a while since I auditioned a Meridian CD player in my system. I had enthusiastically reviewed the English company's groundbreaking <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/285meridian">Pro-MCD player</A> in early 1986, and over the years had kept up with the progress they were making in digital playback, either through my own reviews or by performing the measurements to accompany reviews by other <I>Stereophile</I> writers. The 508-24 player, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/590">reviewed by Wes Phillips</A> in May 1998, was one of the finest digital products of the 1990s, I thought. But when Meridian began promoting surround sound and DVD-Audio at the turn of the century, their goals became somewhat incompatible with my own. Yes, I can appreciate what surround playback can do, but my own musical life is still solidly rooted in Two-Channel Land.

I stayed up late last on April 2&#151;late for me, anyway: 11pm. I watched the last episode of <I>ER</I> in real time. (Hang in there, peeps, there will be an audio point after the jump.)