LATEST ADDITIONS

Conventional wisdom has it that you should listen to an audio component, preferably in your own system, before you decide to buy it. But who, these days, has the opportunity to do this consistently? Even an audition in the store isn't guaranteed; I have to drive two hours to get to the nearest dealer with decent customer service and a good inventory of interesting gear. And though he generally stocks a fairly wide range of components, like any dealer, he carries only a small sample of all the hi-fi gear that's currently, in principle, available.

"How could there be a bad song called 'Iron Man,' or 'War Pigs,' or&mdash;my cup runneth over&mdash;'Rat Salad'?"&mdash;<I>Nick Hornby, explaining his youthful fondness for Black Sabbath</I>

Simaudio has been doing well in the middle of the high-end market, providing products such as their Moon i-5 integrated amplifier (<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/620">reviewed by Chip Stern</A> in July 2002), which offers a glimpse of high-quality sound at an affordable price. That's not to say that the Canadian manufacturer neglects the cost-no-object market: the two-box, $5700, Simaudio Moon Eclipse CD player impressed the heck out of Brian Damkroger when <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/343">he reviewed it</A> for <I>Stereophile</I> in April 2001 (with a Follow-Up in April 2003). So when Simaudio's Lionel Goodfield offered me their Moon Equinox player ($2000) for inclusion in my irregular series of CD-player reviews (footnote 1), I didn't need to be asked twice.

From the September 1992 issue, Corey Greenberg checks in with a review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/992dynaco">Dynaco Stereo 70 II power amplifier</A>. According to CG, "Panor's Stereo 70 II reissue looks similar to a vintage Dyna, but contains several circuit additions claimed to improve the original design's performance."

"Whole-house entertainment systems" and "ease of use" may be anathema for many audiophiles, but they bring joy to the lives of many music lovers&mdash;as they seem to do for manufacturers with a keen eye on the bottom line.

I'm starting to hate computers. They take up all my time. Whether I'm writing, preparing classes to teach, toying with computer-generated music, managing finances, or (too often) upgrading hardware, I'm spending too much time in the computer chair, not enough in the listening chair.

In Hinduism, an avatar is an incarnation of spirit&mdash;a god who descends to earth in bodily form. For Kevin Hayes of the Valve Amplification Company (VAC), the Avatar was meant to be nothing less than his defining statement of the state of the audio designer's art. Drawing on the high-tech refinements and scrupulous attention to individual components that distinguish his flagship high-end amps and preamps, Hayes has filtered it all down into one attractively priced integrated amplifier.