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The No.331 is the latest iteration in a series of Mark Levinson 100Wpc, solid-state, stereo power amplifiers. Extensive cosmetic alterations, internal structural changes, and new circuit designs make it quite different from the No.27 and No.27.5 models that preceded it. These design refinements emanate from Madrigal Audio Laboratories' latest flagship amplifier, the $32,000/pair, 300W RMS Mark Levinson No.33 Reference.

It’s been several years since I saw Branford Marsalis play live, but if tonight’s late set at the Jazz Standard is anything to go by, let’s just say that his last few albums don’t begin to capture the peaks he’s scaling. He started the set with a slow pure-tone simmer of “Violets for Your Furs,” switched to a raucous original, and, at one point, lit into long, zigzag takes on Monk’s “Rhythm-a-ning,” treating it alternately as a funk fizz, a samba, a syncopated frenzy, and a straightforward Monk tune, each switch ripe with wit, adventure, and wry references reminiscent of Dexter Gordon’s (the deftest were two lines from “Jitterbug Waltz”). He blows hot and cool, intense and insouciant. At 48, the onetime wunderkind (and Wynton bro’) has grown fully into his promise and beyond. Another star of the evening was his drummer, an 18-year-old high-school senior from Philadelphia named Justin Faulkner, who’s replaced the longtime Jeff “Tain” Watts. Faulkner is incredible, klook-a-mopping the trapset with ferocious energy and gigantic ears, picking up on every twist from pianist Joey Calderazzo, expanding the spaces left open, then filling them with endless variations. He has a tendency to play louder as the music grows more intense, but hey, he’s 18. There’s a hint of a budding Elvin Jones here. Go watch and listen. The quartet plays through Sunday. The house was jam-packed.

Michael Fremer, <i>Stereophile</i>'s senior contributing editor, has been everywhere lately. First he was <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/gizmodo_hearts_audiophiles/">…;, then he got <a href="http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/04/15/gizmodo-audiophile.html">Boing…;, and now <a href="http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/05/06/on-being-gizmodoed-b.html">he's boinging back</a>.

There’s been much hand-wringing among the aficionadi over reports that George Wein may call off his JVC Jazz Festival this year, leaving New York City bereft of such an event for the first time in decades. I’m not so bothered.

What is it about a component that makes the blas&#233; High Ender sit up and say, "Hey, this is special!"? What elements of its reproduction reach out to you and won't let go? How does the intrepid audio reviewer find a way to describe these hopefully recurring moments of musical discovery which define the high-end experience? How many times, after all, can you say, "Ooooo, ahhhhh, that's the best [<I>insert some part of the frequency range here</I>]," <I>ad nauseam</I>? How much difference is there, anyway? Therein lies the tale...

Wednesday's Spring Fever event at Stereo Exchange was outstanding, and exactly the kind of thing our little high end hi-fi hobby needs. To celebrate the Exchange's 25th anniversary, store owner Dave Wasserman opened his doors, somewhat timidly, to a large crowd of enthusiastic music lovers.