LATEST ADDITIONS

At around eleven o'clock this morning, I was ready for a beer.

Michael Fremer, <i>Stereophile</i>'s senior contributing editor, has been everywhere lately. First he was <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/gizmodo_hearts_audiophiles/">…;, then he got <a href="http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/04/15/gizmodo-audiophile.html">Boing…;, and now <a href="http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/05/06/on-being-gizmodoed-b.html">he's boinging back</a>.

There’s been much hand-wringing among the aficionadi over reports that George Wein may call off his JVC Jazz Festival this year, leaving New York City bereft of such an event for the first time in decades. I’m not so bothered.

What is it about a component that makes the blas&#233; High Ender sit up and say, "Hey, this is special!"? What elements of its reproduction reach out to you and won't let go? How does the intrepid audio reviewer find a way to describe these hopefully recurring moments of musical discovery which define the high-end experience? How many times, after all, can you say, "Ooooo, ahhhhh, that's the best [<I>insert some part of the frequency range here</I>]," <I>ad nauseam</I>? How much difference is there, anyway? Therein lies the tale...

Wednesday's Spring Fever event at Stereo Exchange was outstanding, and exactly the kind of thing our little high end hi-fi hobby needs. To celebrate the Exchange's 25th anniversary, store owner Dave Wasserman opened his doors, somewhat timidly, to a large crowd of enthusiastic music lovers.

During the Stereo Exchange's Spring Fever event, our own Michael Fremer demonstrated the odds and ends of turntable setup. Here he is, determining azimuth, or vertical something or other, or something.

Sooloos's Rob Darling was at the Stereo Exchange Spring Fever celebration, demonstrating his awesome music server system.