LATEST ADDITIONS

Jessica Duchen says, "Christmas is coming, decisions are being made over whether to splash out on an organic turkey, and Handel's Messiah is being reheated for its annual outings. With its stirring choruses and memorable melodies, it's no wonder that Messiah is still everyone's seasonal favourite, especially when performed in a style allegedly appropriate to the mid-18th century. But just as consumers of supposedly organic food can be misled, so music-lovers, dazzled by displays of "superior" knowledge, often swallow assurances that they're hearing a historically correct performance when they manifestly aren't."

Last week we asked for ultimate evaluation discs, but when you want to <I>show off</I> a system or component, what is your ultimate <I>demo</I> disc?

In the heated debate over new digital technologies and their impact upon the traditional recording distribution system, we've grown used to intemperate dialog, but an organization now charges that "mechanical royalties currently are out of whack with historical and international rates."

Talk about going from the ridiculous to the sublime. One day I'm reviewing the $139 <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/1006sonic">Sonic Impact Super T</A> power amplifier, and the next day Krell Industries delivers their $10,000 Evolution 505 SACD/CD player, $15,000 Evolution 202 preamplifier, and their $30,000/pair Evolution 600 monoblocks.

In any category of product or service, there is a gold standard&mdash;one company that epitomizes the best in its field of endeavor. Consider the Rolex watch, the Ferrari sports car, the Steinway piano, the Dunhill pipe. All of these artisanal manufacturers have spent decades, even centuries, earning their names' cachet with their histories of consistent excellence. While high-end audio boasts no names with a 60-year pedigree, such as Ferrari's&mdash;much less Steinway & Sons' +150 years&mdash;there is one firm whose storied past stretches back to the very emergence of the concept of high-end audio itself: Audio Research Corporation.

<B>JERRY LEE LEWIS: <I>Last Man Standing</I></B><BR>
Shangri-La Entertainment 2006. (CD) Steve Bing, Jimmy Rip, prods. No eng listed. AAD? TT: 66:45<BR>
Performance ****<BR>
Sonics ****

I was very sad to learn of the death of Ahmet Ertegun, one of the three visionaries behind Atlantic Records. Having met him several times, it makes perverse sense that he would have met his end due to complications from a fall at a Rolling Stones concert. He was a man of music to the end.