LATEST ADDITIONS

So here I am expounding on the tendency of audio components---especially tubes, capacitors, and resistors---to become microphonic, and you're wondering how you can find out if there's any of that shakin' goin' on in your system. And you want to do it easily and for next to nothing. The first thing you do, then, is listen carefully to Victor Tiscareno of AudoPrism. The following is his big idea, and a damn good one it is.

Reader Sharon Churchill is curious about whether or not <I>Stereophile</I>'s readers have much contact with female audiophiles.

These are perilous times for the independent audio dealer. With customers being siphoned off by large megastores and, eventually, the Internet, success will favor the dealer with a few clever tricks up his or her sleeve. One of those tricks for dealers in Dallas, Texas is a new group formed by Stephen Slaughter of <A HREF="http://www.theaudioconsortium.com">The Audio Consortium</A>.

Steven Stone writes that "the Signature SC-VI is probably the most 'anti-tweak' flagship high-end speaker ever made." In his very thorough review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/162/">Dunlavy Audio Labs Signature SC-VI loudspeaker</A>, Stone details this legendary audiophile favorite from top to bottom. Is it the perfect speaker? Stone lays down his verdict, and more.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.worldspace.com/">WorldSpace</A&gt; announced that it has launched what it describes as "the world's largest digital audio broadcast system." The new system is based on a satellite radio service that recently began transmitting a wide array of multilingual radio programming across the entire African continent.

It's five years from now. Wide bandwidth has made audio-on-demand as commonplace as ATM machines and cellular phones were in 1999. Music lovers can plug into the Internet from almost anywhere and download any tunes they wish to hear anytime they wish to hear them for only pennies per song. Portable devices the size of wristwatches contain entire libraries of music. Picture frames, computer screens, and ceiling tiles all double as loudspeakers. Intuitive programs suggest personal playlists based on databases of prior requests. People are awash in a sea of music.

One of the most amazing things about the march of technology is the way quality goes up as prices go down. Only a few years ago, CD recorders were among the rarest and most expensive audio components. Now they're beginning to appear at budget prices.