LATEST ADDITIONS

Small enough to fit in a shoebox, these little darlings from England almost manage to redefine the state of the art in very compact monitor design (footnote 1). Here's a speaker that isn't as neutral as the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/361">BBC LS3/5a</A> compact monitor, but that does manage to equal or exceed that venerable design in most respects.

In the last issue we published a rather enthusiastic "Quickie" report on a small, $190/pair speaker system from a new company—the FMI Model 80. It was virtually devoid of low end, even as a stereo pair (pairing effectively doubles bass output), and slightly rough as well as a shade soft at the high end, but it had a quality of "aliveness" to it that almost defied belief. Was it a breakthrough in design? A new transducing principle? No, it was neither. In fact, the Model 80 looks like any one of those hundreds of little bookshelf systems that clutter, the pages of Stereo Review's "Hi-Fi Directory" in tedious profusion.

Billy Preston, the keyboard player, singer, and songwriter frequently credited as "the fifth Beatle," died June 6 in Scottsdale, AZ from respiratory complications from improperly treated pericarditas he experienced in an LA hospital visit on November 21, 2005.

Love,<br>
Remember when we first met &#151; standing at the bar, admiring <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/121905thejukebox/">the jukebox's warm glow</a>? How I somehow got around to telling you about that <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/106con/index.html">$90,000 turntable</a>? It almost seems silly now. The small talk of first meetings often does, I suppose, seem silly. But not ours. Nothing "silly" about it. And nothing small. I don't know what made me think I should mention it &#151; this silly turntable &#151; but, a day later, you'd call and leave a message saying you'd like to hear more. "Fascinating," was the word you used.

Myrna Blyth has a sweet reminiscence of the Beatles on the occasion of Sir Paul's 64th birthday.

Or maybe it's birds. But don't Mistress Bagheera put the purr into <I>purrty</I>?

Huckleberry imitates a contemplative kitty. This only works with a still camera. Fact is, he put the <I>me</I> into meow.