LATEST ADDITIONS

I was just about to wrap up my British Invasion Tour of affordable speakers when I got a call from Fearless Leader John Atkinson.

The W-8 ($10,200) is the first of Simaudio's Moon series to incorporate the new Evolution cosmetics and new circuitry. I loved its predecessor, the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/167">Moon W-5</A>, which was one of the first power amplifiers I reviewed for <I>Stereophile</I> (March 1999, Vol.22 No.3). I also loved the "new and improved" W-5 when I wrote about in the May 2001 issue. In the September 2005 issue, Brian Damkroger praised Simaudio's monstrous <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/905sim">Moon Rock</A> monoblock, a contemporary of the Moon Evolution W-8 stereo amp.

My stepfather wore only second-hand clothes as a child and never understood why anyone would deliberately wash the color out of his new dungarees. By the same token, the senior members of our hobby, many of whom recall with fondness the transistor's advent, don't understand why anyone would now wish to throw away their newfound power. Some people deserve to be blessed for their point of view, even as the world moves away from it.

It turns out that <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/031606howto/">Dr. L.R., PhD</a>, does not have two first names. While her last name is spelled just like a very ordinary first name, it is pronounced in a way that makes it something entirely different.

Urrrp!

Last week's cat blogging reminded Jeff Wong of a monster movie, so he provided the special effects.

Here are five funny books you might want to read.