LATEST ADDITIONS

I had intended that my recent exploration of what was available in the world of high-performance minimonitors&mdash;the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/107era">Era Acoustics Design 4</A> ($600/pair) in January, the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/361/index12.html">Stirling LS3/5a V2</A> ($1695/pair) and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/1293harbeth/index5.html">H… HL-P3ES2</A> ($1850/pair) in April, the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/507psb">PSB Alpha B1</A> ($279/pair) in May&mdash;was to end in July, with my review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/707aad">American Acoustic Development Reference Silver-1</A> ($1550/pair). But there was one more real-world&ndash;priced, stand-mounted model that piqued my interest before I return to cost-no-object floorstanders in the substantial form of Sonus Faber's new Cremona Elipsa ($20,000/pair): the Gold Signature GS10 from Monitor Audio ($1495/pair).

Carl Kennedy, director of JL Audio's Home and Professional Sales division, leaned forward and quietly asked, "Would you like to review our Fathom f113 subwoofer?"

The ceiling remains, but the floor has changed: Benz-Micro continues to offer a selection of rather expensive phono cartridges, including their well-established LP Ebony ($4700) and Ruby 3 ($3000) models. But in recent years, my attention has been drawn by the succession of <I>budget</I> Benzes: first, the Gliders ($795), then the ACEs ($550), and now the MC20E2-L ($199).

To those who say the Bush Administration hasn't added anything meaningful to American society I say pshaw. He and Cheney have turned lying into an artform. Not lying exactly but a finer, more refined version of not telling the truth. It's still completely self-serving and wrong but now, if you have little or no education and/or sense of any kind, and you’re easily scared, these pronouncements sound vaguely plausible. It's all about the spin. The truth, in that view, is now relative. Everything is shaded and prismatic. Move several steps to the left and everything seems to look different. Looks like the truth. Sounds like the truth. There's a victory to be had in Iraq! Is it any wonder that we've become a more polarized society under the great decider.

"Prescription Diet I/D made me big and strong," sez Huckleberry, who demanded to be paid in kibble.

<I>The Guardian</I> shows us where the magic happens.

Last week, my wonderful coworkers completely surprised me with a delicious birthday cake.