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<i>You see, JA, if you play the ride cymbal with a chicken wing, you're bound to get a lot more air in the upper octave… Photo by <a href="http://www.jeffwong.com/">Jeff Wong</a>.</i>

If you're new to hi-fi, you might not be aware of the fiercely controversial and seemingly endless argument regarding the importance of blind listening in determining a component's worth. Essentially, there are those who believe that if differences in sound cannot be perceived while listening blindfolded, or under similarly exhausting, stressful, and inhumane conditions, then differences do not exist, and we're all just full of shit when we tell you that the $30,000 Musical Fidelity Titan sounds nothing at all like the $159 Sonic Impact Super T, that, in fact, they're basically the same amp, so you might as well buy the cheaper one.

Charlie Haden, the world’s most distinctive and enticing bass player, seems to have adopted a new tradition. It started as a special occasion, a dozen years ago, in celebration of his 60th birthday, when he played a week of duets at the Blue Note jazz club in New York, each night with a different pianist. He repeated the experiment on his 70th, and this week he’s doing it again, just short of his 72nd, not a round number, which leads me to suspect he’s doing it—and may do it again, semi-regularly—simply because it’s so thrilling, so fun.

The August 2009 issue of <i>Stereophile</i> is now on newsstands. See that spiffy-looking integrated amplifier/USB DAC thingamajig on the cover? That's the Peachtree Nova. When I was at <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/david_solomon_and_the_peachtr… Exchange</a> a couple of months ago, Novas were just flying off the shelves. Old guys were digging them, young guys were digging them, and girls were digging them, too. Everyone wanted one. Can't blame 'em, really. The Nova offers a lot in a tidy, attractive package. Look at that styling, all retro-modern Eames with its high profile and its real-wood veneer wrapping round those perfect curves!

In 1962, J. Gordon Holt started a magazine based on the simple, beautiful idea that the quality of an audio component should be measured, first and foremost, by how it sounds. That magazine, of course, was Stereophile.

It is with immense sadness that I heard of Gordon's passing, in an announcement from his long-time friend, Bob O'Neill: "A few minutes after 12 noon mtn time, July 20, 2009, J. Gordon Holt passed away in his home in Boulder, Colorado. A memorial service will be held in a week or two. There will be, of course, martinis and the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams." According to his son Charles, Gordon had suffered a long fight with COPD/Emphysema and he died in his home with his family around him.

It could be a foreign country or a big city. Where would you go for the ultimate audiophile vacation and why?