LATEST ADDITIONS

Good things come in threes, they say. Well, three-channel power amps suit me just fine. My main component rack is at the back of the room, so I split power duties between a two-channel amp under the rack to drive my rear-channel B&W 804S speakers and, way at the front, either three monoblocks or a three-channel amp for the front three <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/1205bw">B&W 802D</A>s. I do this to ensure that the timbre of the front three channels is consistent. The outstanding performance of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/306sim">Simaudio Moon W-8</A> dual-mono power amp (<I>Stereophile</I>, March 2006) almost tempted me to go with a stereo amp and a monoblock, but voicing and balancing a multichannel system with equanimity makes me want as much simplicity as possible. I guess manufacturers and users see it the same way; many new three-channel amps are coming on the market.

In his impassioned "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/397awsi">As We See It</A>" in May (Vol.20 No.5, p.3), Robert Harley pleaded that the Compact Disc is actually quite a bit better than it sounds, and requested that audiophiles focus instead on the significant improvements wrought in digital sound since its inception. Bob's point&mdash;that picking on CD's shortcomings has become a ritual bloodsport within the High End&mdash;is well taken: witness my own catty swipe at it in the first sentence. The fact is that the glaring imperfections of the first generation of digital products are now mostly distant memories. Most of us <I>do</I> derive hours of musical pleasure from our CD players and CD collections.

Just about everyone knows that a new high-quality digital audio disc, called DVD, is being developed by the world's electronics giants. What few realize, however, is how politics and corporate politics influenced the format's technical specifications. The result may be unnecessary sonic degradation for millions of music listeners.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has taken its first giant steps into the digital domain. Hard on the heels of launching the orchestra's new in-house CD label, CSO Resound, it has announced a partnership with digital distributor IODA that will make CSO Resound recordings available for download via iTunes, Yahoo! Music, Rhapsody, Napster, Verizon, Sprint, and other online retailers.

A couple of nights ago, walking down Madison Avenue, on my way home from work, I had to stop and enjoy this view.

Huckleberry finds humans amusing.

Princess Bagheera gets so weary of people sticking cameras in her face.