LATEST ADDITIONS

Musical Fidelity's Tri-Vista kWP, introduced in 2003, was an impressive, high-tech, "statement" audiophile preamplifier. Its outboard power supply weighed almost 56 lbs&#151;more than most <I>power</I> amplifiers&#151;and its hybrid circuitry included miniature military-grade vacuum tubes. As I said in <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpreamps/104mf">my review of it</A> in the January 2004 <I>Stereophile</I>, the kWP's chassis and innards were overbuilt, the measured performance impressive, and any sonic signature imposed on the signal was subtle and, essentially, inconsequential.

In an e-mail exchange with Stephen Mejias about why the mere mention of cassette decks on www.stereophile.com can so easily inflame our readers (and John Atkinson), I began to develop the idea that the brains of audiophiles and music lovers are governed by three complementary needs, or desires, that define who we are. I joked to SM that these desires, which apparently shift over time, constitute the Holy Trinity of Audiophiledom. They are, respectively, the love, desire, and need for:

<B>Johnny Cash: </I>American VI: Ain't No Grave</I></B><BR>
Lost Highways/American Recordings B0013954-02 (CD). 2010. Rick Rubin, prod.; David Ferguson, eng.; Greg Fidelman, Jimmy Tittle, Paul Fig, Dan Leffler, asst. engs. AAD.? TT: 32:23<BR>
Performance ****&#189;<BR>
Sonics ***&#189;

I’ve been reading Matthew Crawford’s <i>Shop Class As Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work</i>, which argues that an intimacy with manual trades may revitalize a connection to the material world lost to those who spend their lives in offices or cubicles, staring at computer screens for eight to twelve hours a day, unable to quantify exactly what it is that they <i>do</i>. I’m digging it. It aligns, in many ways, with a philosophy John Atkinson has shared with me: <i>Do doingfully.</i>

Oh, crap. This is good. Recently signed to <a href="http://www.4ad.com/ariel-pinks-haunted-graffiti/">4AD</a&gt;, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti are poised to release <i>Before Today</i>, their first full-length album for the acclaimed indie label, on June 8th. Whee!

When you think of his name on phrase comes to mind:

Sometimes wandering the streets of New York I hear whining about how “far from nature’ someone is; or how there’s too much concrete; or how the exhaust&#150;filled air is hurting their lungs. Well, boo hoo. If it’s purple mountains majesties you seek, NYC ain’t the place. You come here for the human culture not the natural beauty&#151;although now that I think of it, there are other, very compelling forms of natural beauty in NYC, if you catch my drift, wink, wink, nod, nod, say no more, but I digress.