LATEST ADDITIONS

It's difficult to believe that the former top model of Vandersteen Audio's line of loudspeakers, the Model 5, has been in production in one form or another since 1997. Time passes quickly when you're having fun. Like all Vandersteen speakers, the 5 was and remains a good value <I>and</I> performance proposition. For all the 5's high technology and excellent performance both measured and audible, its price now starts at under $20,000/pair (up from about $10,000/pair when the 5 was introduced in 1997), including a built-in, proprietary powered subwoofer in each cabinet, and a sophisticated equalization system for room compensation.

The April 2010 issue of <i>Stereophile</i> is now on newsstands. For the cover, we selected the <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/ssi2009/monitor_audio_platinum_200/">Monitor Audio Platinum PL200</a> loudspeaker. Like Bob Deutsch, I was impressed by this speaker when I heard it at the <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/ssi2009/">2009 Salon Son & Image</a>, so I was especially pleased by John Atkinson’s decision to highlight it. Our cover photographer, Eric Swanson, and designer, Natalie Baca, were also pleased by the speaker’s great looks: The fine-furniture finish of its Santos Rosewood cabinet, the silvery ceramic-coated aluminum magnesium drive units, the handsome Strathspey leather front baffle, and, <i>ooh</i>, that sexy rear port (see the extreme close-up on page 109!) all worked to win over our design team.

John Fahey cites Bill Monroe’s “Blue Yodel #7” as the song that changed/destroyed his life. After hearing that song, he knew he had to play guitar.

In the we-all-make-mistakes department:

And here's one that brightens <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/113005if/">Andrea</a>'s day.

<B>Neil Young: <I>Official Release Series, Discs 1&#150;4</I></B><BR>
Reprise 519173-1(4 LPs, Limited Edition Vinyl Boxed Set). 2009. Neil Young, David Briggs, Elliot Mazer, Jack Nitzsche, Henry Lewy, prods.; John Nowland, reissue eng. AAA.

I may have had 4000 LPs and a perfectly wonderful <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/1103linn">Linn LP12</A> turntable, but I could go for weeks on end without listening to a single LP. But I still thought of myself as one of the vinyl faithful, even as I rationalized my digital-centric listening tendencies. I loved analog <I>in theory</I>&#151;I just couldn't bring myself to listen to it all that much.