LATEST ADDITIONS

The Pharcyde's "Otha Fish," from their crazily good 1993 album, <i>Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde</i>.

Back in 1992, J. Gordon Holt stated "we haven't accomplished what we set out to do. The playback still doesn't sound 'just like the real thing.'" Is Holt still right, has high-end audio lost its way?

We audio writers have our niches. Mikey loves analog, Artie likes to play with horn speakers and assorted oddball British kit, and I really enjoy reviewing affordable speakers. There's something exciting about hearing the fruits of the labors of a creative designer who's applied his talents to meet a stringent price point and created a speaker that can entice into our hobby the financially challenged music lover.

My reviews always begin in bizarre ways. Take <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/david_manley_tubes_logic_amp_audiophile_soun… Manley</A>...please! (Just kidding.) On the last day of Winter CES 1995, I found myself towing a tuckered-out JA to a few final rooms. (This was just after the January '95 David Manley/Dick Olsher tube-rolling brouhaha, footnote 1, regarding who should do what to whom, and with which particular tube.) So as we passed Manley's room, John Atkinson thought to stick his head in (the noose) and say hello.

It says something for the state of technology that, after a quarter of a century, there still is no authoritative explanation for why so many high-end audiophiles prefer tubes. Tubes not only refuse to die, they seem to be Coming back. The number of US and British firms making high-end tube equipment is growing steadily, and an increasing number of comparatively low-priced units are becoming available. There is a large market in renovated or used tube equipment&#151;I must confess to owning a converted McIntosh MR-71 tuner&#151;and there are even some indications that tube manufacturers are improving their reliability, although getting good tubes remains a problem.

Among the treasures discovered this morning, we have the very first issue of <i>Stereophile</i>, punk rock-style buttons, several outstanding hi-fi cartoons drawn by JGH, and some absolutely shocking show photos.