LATEST ADDITIONS

At home, I’ve been playing around a little bit with my new Anniversary Ringmat 330 replacement platter mat for my Rega P3-24 turntable. However, I haven’t been in the best mood for comparative listening sessions&#151I came home from work with <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/100705advil/">a headache</a> the last two nights, and I’ve <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/030706dragonflies/">still</a&…; been suffering from some post-static stress disorder (<a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/armed_and_ready/">PSSD</a&gt;) while playing LPs&#151so I’m not ready to make any value judgments.

Some time ago in these pages, Anthony H. Cordesman observed rather ungraciously that the whole line of Hafler electronics "could do with reworking." This was interpreted by many readers&#151;including the good people at the David Hafler Company&#151;as meaning that AHC felt the entire Hafler line to be mediocre. In fact, he does not. (He had given a Hafler product a positive review a few issues previously.) Tony's comment, however, did express a sentiment that most of us at <I>Stereophile</I> have shared for some time: a feeling that Hafler products had slipped from the position of sonic preeminence which they enjoyed during the 1960s and '70s to one of mere excellence in a field where only preeminence is acclaimed.

<B>THE PERSUASIONS: <I>Live in the Whispering Gallery</I></B><BR>
Hammer n' Nails HNCD 1988 (CD only). Frank Kulaga, Larry Collen, engs.; David Ackerman, prod. D&#150;D. TT: 34:39

Now that Sony has bought CBS's records division, and the infamous Copycode bill seems to be dying in Congress, the way may be clearing at last for the US introduction of the new Digital Audio Tape system. This has sparked renewed speculation in the industry about the impact DAT will have on existing formats, particularly the fledgling CD. Some are convinced DAT will kill CD, because of its ability to record as well as play digital recordings. Others believe DAT won't even gain a foothold in the market, for the same reason quadraphonic sound laid an egg back in the '70s: The public can't handle more than one "standard" format. I feel that both views are wrong, and that&#151;as is usually the case with extreme views&#151;the truth lies in between. I believe DAT will catch on in the marketplace, but never in a big way, and certainly not the way CD has. Here's why.

A couple of friends came over this weekend to listen to records, and I’m happy to report that we experienced no trouble at all. No static, no distortion, no woman, no cry. Record after record, beer after beer, the Rega sounded just fine. I do believe <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/all_schmutzed_up_and_i_dont_k… days of vinyl misery</a> are over. But just in case the static monster decides to come round again, I also picked up a can of StaticGuard ($4 at DuaneReade). Before the dudes came over, I sprayed the stuff on the rug in front of my system, as well as on the curtains behind the system. The smell wasn’t so bad and the dry mist evaporated quickly. My apartment has never been so static-free.

Uptown and Downtown are about to merge.

<A HREF="http://www.axpona.com">Axpona</A&gt;, the Audio Expo of North America, is geared up for its premiere next Friday in Jacksonville, Florida. The new Show runs March 5&#150;7 at the 350-room Wyndham Riverwalk Hotel, which overlooks the St. Johns River and is just 15 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean. Sponsored by <I>Stereophile</I>, which will blog live from the show, Axpona is already looking like a winner. Impressive figures for advance Internet registration (discounted through March 1) indicate that Axpona might meet or even surpass attendance at last year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, in Denver.