LATEST ADDITIONS

Vacuum Tube Logic TL-7.5 Reference line preamplifier

Paul Bolin Oct 12, 2003

What comes to mind when you think of VTL? If you're like most of us, enormously powerful tube power amplifiers are inseparable from the name. To contemplate VTL is to think of some of the finest-sounding, most potent amps ever built—from the late-1980s, 400Wpc Ichiban, the first massively powerful tube monoblock of the audiophile era, to the mighty <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/157/">Wotan</A> and Siegfried amplifiers of today. All well and good, as far as it goes.

Recording of the Month

Recording of October 2003: Private Astronomy

Robert Baird Oct 12, 2003

GEOFF MULDAUR'S FUTURISTIC ENSEMBLE: Private Astronomy: A Vision of the Music of Bix Beiderbecke Edge 028947458326 (CD). 2003. Conceived & arranged by Geoff Muldaur; Dick Connette, prod.; Joe Boyd, exec. prod.; Eve Seltzer, Gary Carroll, Tristan Leral, Scott Lehrer, Dave Winslow, Mark Linett, Keith Weschler, Neil Couser, engs. AAD? TT:42:18 Performance ***** Sonics ****

As We See It

That Really Sucks

Jon Iverson Oct 12, 2003

Readers are constantly telling us that downloaded audio files suck. I tend to agree with them.

Integrated Amp Reviews

Ayre AX-7 integrated amplifier

Art Dudley Oct 12, 2003

Dating was murder, especially in the months just before I met my wife. I knew some nice women back then, many of whom were good-hearted and others of whom were beautiful. One was both, and talented, too: She gave me presents for no reason and wrote tender things in cards with pictures of sweet meadows or the sea: My love goes on and on, they said. But for whatever reason, I just couldn't love her back, and Oh! how the shit hit the fan the day I told her so. I meant it as a respectful act of honesty and forthrightness; she took it as a cowardly act of rejection, and responded in a manner that would forever remind me of Maggie bouncing the rolling pin off Jiggs's head while calling him an insect. That day, I learned two things: 1) women are unlearnable; and, 2) honesty, while an unassailably good thing in and of itself, makes a poor tool, mostly because it lacks a safety handle.

Vote

What is the source component you use most in your home system?

Stereophile Oct 05, 2003

Clearly, there are plenty of our readers who love vinyl. But what, in terms of time used, is the most important source component in your system?

News

Health Care for Recording Artists?

Barry Willis Oct 05, 2003

Recording artists may soon have improved health care coverage, should an historic agreement be ratified by members of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (<A HREF="http://www.aftra.org">AFTRA</A>).

News

Lieberfarb Joins Sirius

Stereophile Staff Oct 05, 2003

<A HREF="http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Radio</A> has added an entertainment industry heavyweight to its board of directors.

News

Added to the Archives This Week

Stereophile Staff Oct 05, 2003

Wes Phillips slips into his well-worn flame-proof underwear as he bravely introduces audiophiles to the musical merits of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/934/">Apple iPod</A>. WP finds he likes living at the edge of audio trendiness, exclaiming, "Holy cow! I'm running with the fashionistas! Can I still be an audiophile, too?"

News

CD Fair Warning

Jon Iverson Oct 05, 2003

Whether listeners like it or not, record labels, including major players like BMG and Arista Records, are <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11734/">now making moves</A> to rein in how their CDs are played and used. Unfettered CDs have been on the shelves for almost two decades, and some industry observers note that changing how they work at this late stage could be a recipe for trouble with consumers.

Budget Component Reviews Media Server Reviews

Apple iPod portable music player

Wes Phillips Oct 05, 2003

It was John Atkinson, that legendary ornithologist, who first pointed it out: "Have you noticed how frequently you see women using the iPod?"