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Small seems to be the next big thing—the new black, maybe. Viola Audio Labs introduced its 9" W by 4.3" H by 16" D 75W Forte monoblocks ($10,000/pair). Like its big brothers, the Forte has a minimum of internal wiring, which along with its compact dimensions, keeps signal paths short. It has a 1M ohm input impedance, making it easy to drive, and this is said also to improve HF performance and transient response, according to designer Tom Colangelo's colleague Paul Jayson. It uses minimal negative feedback and a choke input filter power supply.

Jon Iverson and I walked into Studio Electric's room at T.H.E. Show not knowing what to expect and stopped short. <I>Whoa</I>, this was different.

Technical Audio Devices, better known as TAD, was showing a speaker that looked disturbingly familiar. It was the same size and seemed to feature the same drivers as TAD's Model-1, but it lacked that speaker's silver hood and upper front baffle. That's because Andrew Jones had come to Vegas with TAD's Model-2, which he said would come in between $35,000 and $40,000/pair.

Drum me out of the High End if you must, but I have a shameful confession to make: <I>I love headphones</I>. I know, I know, I'm supposed to preface my comment with a lofty disclaimer, such as, "Of course, given my refined sensibilities, <I>I</I> could never derive satisfaction from such a compromised listening apparatus, but many of <I>you</I> seem to enjoy them." Well, pardon me for saying so, but <I>pfffftttt!</I>

There seems to be a fairly common evolution among audiophiles: First, they notice that there is better sound available than they have ever experienced before, so they buy (we hope!) better-sounding equipment&mdash;but sooner or later, upgrading becomes terrifically expensive, while the urge to improve the system remains constant. What to do then?

But change the name of the companies involved and I heard every one of the claims in "The Top 10 Lies of Entrepreneurs" uttered at one point or another this past week.

Hah&mdash;I'd like to see the program, that could figure <I>me</I> out!