LATEST ADDITIONS

We all had to start somewhere, reader Mark Gdovin observes. He'd like to know what your very first audio components were.

<B>SHOSTAKOVICH: 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op.87</B><BR>
</I>Keith Jarrett, piano<BR>
ECM New Series 1469/70 (437 189-2, 2 CDs only). Peter Laenger, eng.; Manfred Eicher, prod. DDD. TT: 2:15:21

Like most people, I'm not interested in long, windy essays about audio reviewing, having barely enough time and interest for audio itself. But I do perk up when the debate turns to the audio reviewer's purpose in life: Should I write about everything that crosses my path, or should I limit my attention to those products that interest me, and that stand a chance of being good?

Like most people, I'm not interested in long, windy essays about audio reviewing, having barely enough time and interest for audio itself. But I do perk up when the debate turns to the audio reviewer's purpose in life: Should I write about everything that crosses my path, or should I limit my attention to those products that interest me, and that stand a chance of being good?

<IMG SRC="/images/newsart/011904schram.jpg" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=266 HSPACE=6 VSPACE=4 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Parasound wins design award: Only a week after receiving a <I>Stereophile</I> 2003 "Product of the Year" award at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for its excellent Halo JC-1 monoblock power amplifier&mdash;Richard Schram is shown accepting the award (right)&mdash;Parasound Products won a 2003 "Good Design Award" from the <A HREF="http://www.chi-athenaeum.org">Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design</A>. The company's Halo C1 preamp/surround sound processor emerged on top in the museum's annual design competition, "one of the oldest and most important such events in the world," according to a January 16 announcement from Parasound. The C1 and other winners will be on exhibit in the museum from April 3&ndash;June 13, 2004. Opening day of the exhibit will be populated with dignitaries, design professionals, and representatives of the press.

Like it or not, audiophiles may find that it will be the computer industry, not the traditional consumer electronics manufacturers, that creates a successful platform for high resolution audio. As we <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/010904ces/">reported last week</A> from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Microsoft's latest Windows Media Audio (WMA) codec contains provisions for up to eight channels of 96kHz/24-bit lossy or lossless PCM audio&mdash;and Apple OSX fans have had an operating system that supports 96/24 for some time.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.phoenixgold.com/">Phoenix Gold International</A> announced its acquisition of the marketing assets of Carver Corporation, including the Carver name, along with plans to "actively rebuild the once highly regarded Carver brand, beginning with a full line of new consumer and professional audio products."