LATEST ADDITIONS

It doesn't take much to read between the lines of Sony's discontinuation of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/700/">TA-P9000ES analog preamplifier</A> and their introduction of the SCD-XA9000ES SACD player with IEEE1394 digital output at <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11662/">Home Entertainment 2003</A>. (A similar feature from the DVD-Audio camp has been promised.) Surely, we will at long last be able to have external digital processing and DACs in our preamp or control units. In addition to the freedom to mix and match components, this opens the door to having a single digital component manage bass and channel balance for all sources, and room/speaker correction without redundant redigitization.

Audiophile systems are made to fit just about any room, big or small. How large is your primary listening space?

Johnny Cash, the 71-year-old American icon, died September 12 of respiratory failure caused by complications from diabetes. The singer/songwriter had been released from the hospital the preceding day after a two-week struggle with an unspecified stomach ailment.

Audio companies create products that are based on a variety of technologies, provoking lawsuits every once in a while when patents are involved. One such lawsuit erupted earlier this year as Robert W. Carver, designer for and founder of <A HREF="http://www.sunfire.com">Sunfire Corporation</A>, filed a US patent lawsuit against <A HREF="http://www.audioprods.com/">Audio Products International</A> (API).

It's just about impossible to imagine a worse public relations campaign than the one being waged by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the nation's courtrooms.

Graham Nash and Frank Zappa will be <A HREF="http://www.dts.com">DTS Entertainment's</A> first artists to debut in Europe on DVD-Audio, thanks to an agreement between DTSE and Cadiz Music, Ltd., a distributor in Greenwich, England. DTS Entertainment is the entertainment division of Digital Theater Systems, Inc., based in Agoura Hills, CA.

When I interviewed recording engineer Roy Halee (Simon and Garfunkel, The Byrds, The Lovin' Spoonful, etc.) at his home in Connecticut back in 1991, he pointed to his pair of monolithic Infinity IRS loudspeakers and said, "When I want to listen for pleasure, I listen to those." He then pointed to a pair of early-edition Wilson Audio Specialties WATT/Puppys in a second system set up in the corner of his large listening room. "When I want to hear what's on a recording I've made, I listen to <I>those</I>." It was obvious: Halee respected the Wilsons, but he <I>loved</I> the Infinitys. Not surprising, since <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//interviews/478/">Dave Wilson</A> designed the WATT section to be a highly accurate portable monitor, and monitors are designed for respect, not love.