LATEST ADDITIONS

I was the Mix-Tape Master of Deltona High School. Deltona, Florida, USA. Somehow, after all these years, I've even kept tapes from way back in the day. <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/062607letting/">You reading this, Kim?</a> I still have that tape you made for me, all covered in bubblegum wrappers and Band-Aid brand bandages and your sweet profanity. Tapes packed so tight and deep with angst and desperation that songs get chopped off at their bitter ends, are left to rot in some chocolate brown Memorex hell. All Siouxsie Sioux and Jesus and Mary Chain and Jane's Addiction.

Three years ago, the idea of a solid-state integrated amplifier that sold for only $1250 yet combined some of the best performance aspects of a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/660">Naim Nait</A> and a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/992dynaco">Dynaco Stereo 70</A> seemed likely to resonate with consumers and critics alike. And it did: Introduced in early 2005, the British-built <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/1105exposure">Exposure 2010S</A> was an unequivocal hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and remains in Class A of <I>Stereophile</I>'s "Recommended Components." Deservedly.

The subject comes up every now and then: Audio reviewers don't write nearly enough negative reviews. One old attention-seeker on Audio Asylum went so far as to characterize <I>Stereophile</I> and our would-be competitors as "happy face" magazines&mdash;a joke in which he seemed to take tremendous pride&mdash;simply because we hand out a lot of As and Bs. By that logic, assuming that a certain percentage of underachievers is inevitable in any population, our schools aren't handing out nearly enough Fs. (I have a suggestion for where they can begin.)

The e-mail popped in at around 4pm last Friday afternoon.

Cars rate energy use as miles per gallon (MPG), but what about audio equipment? Reader "wook" wants to know: "Would you like <I>Stereophile</I>'s reviews to include power-draw measurements?"

Those of you in New York City this weekend should have no trouble finding a bit of music to enjoy. In fact, it might prove difficult to avoid. You may even find yourself dancing&#151wildly, uncontrollably&#151as you stroll along one of the city's many great stretches of sidewalk. The sidewalks themselves will vibrate like drum heads, bend like strings.

BillB brings up a good point. He writes: