<B>MIGHTY SAM McCLAIN: <I>Give It Up to Love</I></B><BR> AudioQuest AQ-LP1015 (LP), AQ-CD1015 (CD). Joe Harley, Sam McClain, Lorne Entress, prods.; Michael C. Ross, Dan Bosworth, engs. AAA/AAD. TTs: 47:46, 54:06
Make the <I>wussy-wussy</I> sound: Merely because of the way it looks, I didn't think I'd like the Simaudio Moon i-3 integrated amplifier ($1750). But the Moon prevailed (I resisted writing <I>rose</I>) over whatever prejudice I had against it, and so far it's been the biggest and best surprise in my ongoing and casual survey of affordable integrateds.
I first became familiar with Israeli speaker manufacturer Morel, founded in 1975, back in the late 1970s, when they had a drive-unit plant in the UK. Their drivers have always been well-respected—I was mightily impressed with a sample of their T33 1" soft-dome tweeter when I had the opportunity to measure it a decade or so ago—so when I heard their Octwin 5.2 dual-speaker system at the 2002 CEDIA conference, I asked for a pair for review.
Manufacturers and retailers don't expect an upswing in electronics sales next year. That's the consensus of members polled by the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A>, published in mid-October.
In <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/shownews.cgi?1758">other news</A> this week, the music business is in a tailspin, and searching for ways to save itself. The National Association of Record Merchandisers (NARM) has just published its chairman's message, with several clues about what consumers may see from the industry in the coming months.
A drop-off in business these days seems to produce one inevitable consequence: a cutback in jobs.
From the October issue, John Atkinson gets acquainted with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?942">Morel Octwin 5.2M loudspeaker</A>, noting, "Once you become accustomed to its admittedly weird looks, it is actually visually appealing and has a small footprint in the listening room." But there's something about the Morel's sound that causes JA to raise an eyebrow.
In the October issue of <I>Stereophile</I>, Jon Iverson comments, "When disco hit, it sure sucked." So what do you think: was the music known as disco ever worth the vinyl it was pressed on? Has it aged well or not?
In the October issue of <I>Stereophile</I>, Wes Phillips treads what many may see as dangerous audio ground and writes an audiophile's assessment of Apple's iPod. Is this a good move or not? Why?
<A HREF="http://www.sony.com/SEL">Sony Electronics</A> will soon institute some big changes in an effort to become more efficient.