LATEST ADDITIONS

<B>EDUARDO PANIAGUA GROUP: <I>Danzas Medievales Espa&#241;olas</I></B><BR> Eudardo Paniagua, flautas de bisel, nay, fujara, psalterio, tromba marina, darbuga, tar, c&#237;mbalos, caraqueb, cascabeles; Cesar Carazo, canto, viola de brazo; Wafir Sheik, la&#250;d &#225;rabe, darbuga, pandero, sonajero; Jaime Mu&#241;oz, axabeba, kaval, chalumeau, dulcimer, sonajas; Enrique Almendros, flautas de tres agujeros, gaitas, gaita charra y tamboril, tar, c&#237;mbaols, campanas; Luis Delgado, zanfona, la&#250;d, dutar, vihuela de p&#233;&#241;ola, santur, fujara, c&#225;ntara, darbuga, zarb, bendir, pandera, tambor, tar<BR> M&bull;A M034A (CD only). Todd Garfinkle, prod., eng. DDD. TT: 72:05

Is Krell risking its reputation? With the KAV-300i, an integrated amplifier that was originally envisaged as an export model, but for which home demand is clearly increasing, the Connecticut-based amplifier manufacturer is dabbling in low-cost territory. Previous Krell amplifiers have been known for their prodigious drive capability. Time and time again, it is found that the true measure of the bass performance of a big speaker isn't realized until a Krell power amplifier is brought into service. But how could an amplifier with a meaty 150Wpc specification and full remote control be built to sell for just $2350.

<B>CASSANDRA WILSON: <I>New Moon Daughter</I></B><BR> Cassandra Wilson, vocals; Brandon Ross, guitars; Kevin Breit, guitars, banjo, Irish bazouki; Charlie Burnham, violin; Lonnie Plaxico, bass; Dougie Bowne, drums; others.<BR> Blue Note CDP 8 32861 2 (CD only). Craig Street, prod.; Danny Kopelson, eng. TT: 61:59

While large, floorstanding speakers appear to offer the most material for the buck, I feel that small stand-mounted speakers both offer the best value in sound quality, as well as standing the best chance of sounding good in moderate-sized listening rooms. In recent months <I>Stereophile</I> has reviewed a varied group of such speakers. In order of descending price, these include the Acoustic Energy AE2 Signature ($5495/pair, November '95); Dzurko Acoustics Jaguar ($4500/pair, reviewed elsewhere in this issue); <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/462/">Totem Mani-2</A> ($3995/pair, February '96); Platinum Audio Solo ($2498/pair, November '95); Coincident Speaker Technology Troubador ($1495/pair, January and February '96); <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/615/">Joseph Audio RM7si</A> ($1299-$1499/pair, February '96); <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/445/">Acarian Al&#243;n Petite</A> ($995-$1195/pair, January '96); Phase Technology PC80 II ($699/pair, December '95); and Spectrum 108cd ($399/pair, December '95).

Some folks claim to have actually seen the legendary Bigfoot, the enormous, manlike beast said to roam the backwoods of the Pacific Northwest. Others have stood in his footprints or plucked foul-smelling patches of hair from trees he has recently passed. A few have gotten close enough to take vague snapshots or shaky video clips of the beleaguered creature. One or two attest to frightful chance encounters with him. His size alone has given rise to rumors that he is dangerous, but no firm evidence has ever been produced to substantiate this.

"Rarely, if ever, can this densely written sonata have been presented so lucidly with each note precisely in place...the dramatic and lyrical aspects were never slighted or taken for granted."<BR>&mdash;Peter G. Davis, writing in the <I>New York Times</I> about Robert Silverman's New York debut in 1978, when he performed the Liszt B-Minor Piano Sonata in Alice Tully Hall.

The <I>auteur</I> theory of the cinema, first described in the 1950s by Fran&#231;ois Truffaut, states that a great movie represents the artistic vision of one person, usually the director. Moviemaking may involve collaboration, but it cannot be done successfully by a committee. There has to be a single individual in charge, one whose sensitivity and world view is reflected in the movie. In the same sense that the author of a novel is telling a story through the medium of print, the director of a movie is telling a story through the medium of film.