LATEST ADDITIONS

When I taught a recording engineering program at a California college, one of my first responsibilities to new students was to clarify for them what recording engineering was <I>really</I> about. Many of them entered the program with the impression that recording was nonstop glamor, with a significant part of the job devoted to partying with their favorite rock bands. It was my job to tell them the bad news: Recording was more about lying on your back underneath a recording console on a dirty studio floor with hot solder dripping on your face.

High-tech, compact, and lightweight, Chord's entry-level SPM 650 power amplifier ($4995) promises robust power output, low distortion and noise, flat and ultra-wideband frequency response, and bulletproof reliability&#151;all in what seems an impossibly small package measuring 16.4" wide by 3.4" high by 13.8" deep and weighing only 22 lbs.

Over the years, I have become increasingly impressed by the quality of the audio engineering emanating from Simaudio, which next year celebrates its 30th anniversary. In a world where the US facilities of some well-known audio brands have been reduced to a design office coupled to a warehouse for storing product manufactured overseas, this Montreal-based manufacturer, in order to keep full control over quality and hence reliability, does as much manufacturing as possible in-house, including metalwork, some printed circuit-board stuffing, and assembly. (See my photo essay starting <A HREF="http://forum.stereophile.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/856">here</A…;.)

<B>WYNTON MARSALIS: <I>Tune In Tomorrow</I></B> (soundtrack)<BR>
Wynton Marsalis, trumpet; Alvin Batiste, Dr. Michael White, clarinet; Wes Anderson, Harvey Estrin, alto sax; Todd Williams, tenor &amp; soprano sax, clarinet; Joe Temperley, baritone sax; Herb Harris, tenor sax; Wycliffe Gordon, trombone; Marcus Roberts, piano; Warren Bernhardt, Lucky Peterson, organ; Reginald Veal, bass; Herlin Riley, drums; Johnny Adams, Shirley Horn, vocals<BR>
Columbia CK 47044 (CD only). Tim Geelan, eng.; Steve Epstein, Delfeayo Marsalis, prods. DDD. TT: 63:37

I'd been curious about Phiaton's headphones ever since Wes Phillips's positive review of the radical-looking, leather-clad <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/headphones/phiaton_moderna_ms_400_headphones… MS 400</a> appeared in our pages earlier this year, so when I learned that a couple of Phiaton's executives would be in New York City to introduce their new noise-cancelling 'phones, I was eager to check them out.

The Phiaton PS 300 NC headphones ($299) use Valves of the Heart Sound Technology (VHST) to control airflow into and out of the headphone speakers.

The Phiaton PS 200 sound-isolating earphones cost $249 and are designed to resemble jet engines! John Atkinson is working on a review.