LATEST ADDITIONS

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.

The ongoing reissues of Mercury Living Presence and RCA Living Stereo recordings, have been the signal successes of the SACD format. Despite having been recorded in only (!) three channels, these releases have given us very good justifications for going beyond two-channel stereo to get as unrestricted a hearing as possible of live performances.

Two recent Soapboxes suggested that classical music is dying. Some correspondents argued that it is stronger than ever. What percentage of your music collection and/or listening time is given over to classical music?

Linear, LLC of Carlsbad, CA, an innovative firm specializing in radio frequency products, has announced its acquisition of Niles Audio Corporation, the Miami, FL company best known for its whole-house audio and video products.

Ready or not, here comes the audio download future&mdash;and a sizable portion of it may be wireless (think cellphones). Or at least that's what IDC is predicting in a new study called "US Wireless Music 2005-2009 Forecast and Analysis: Grooves on The Move."

With high-end audio dealers becoming scarcer and with more Internet dealers popping up every week, are you finding that you make more of your audio equipment purchases online?

You'd think I'd be used to <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/610">Charlie Hansen</A> by now. After all, I've been speaking to Ayre Acoustics' renaissance man for a decade, having first encountered him when I was trying to arrange the review of Ayre's 100Wpc V-3 power amplifier that was published in the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/412">August 1996 <I>Stereophile</I></A> (Vol.19 No.8). I thought the V-3 was impressive.