LATEST ADDITIONS

One of the records we listened to <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/at_the_monkeyhaus/">at the Monkeyhaus</a> last week was Sonny & Linda Sharrock's <i>Paradise</i>&#151a powerfully uplifting record, in my opinion. Sonny Sharrock, however, did not feel the same. In a 1989 interview with WKCR's Ben Ratliff, Sonny dismissed <i>Paradise</i> as being "not a good album," and attributed the album's failure to his own incompetence as a bandleader.

Last week, we moved&#151from the sixth floor of 261 Madison Avenue to the fifth floor of 261 Madison Avenue. The good news is abundant:

With good news to share about new downloads, let's dispense with the downer first. As <A HREF="http://www.twice.com/article/CA6661607.html?nid=2402&">reported by Twice.com</A>, HDGiants, aka MusicGiants, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in US Bankruptcy Court on May 18. Although the site, often praised by <I>Stereophile</I> as a leader in CD-quality and high-resolution music and video downloads, still appears to be operating, the layoff of its sales and marketing staff raises serious questions about its future.

I've been reading Daniel Levitan's <I>The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature</I>, which makes pretty strong claims for the importance of those tones in time. (Neil McCormick conducted an interesting <A HREF="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/neil_mccormick/blog/2009/04/09/evolution_o…; with Levitan in <I>The Telegraph</I>.)

Sure, there is a ton of information about new music available online, but sometimes holding it in your hand is better still. Do you subscribe to any music magazines? If so, what do you subscribe to, and if not, why not?

As founder of California-based Vacuum Tube Logic of America, David Manley is at the forefront of the current renaissance in vacuum-tube audio equipment. In addition to manufacturing some highly regarded audiophile components, VTL has introduced a line of tubed professional equipment that is finding its way into recording studios. David has a lifetime of experience in tube electronics, recording studio design, disc cutting, music recording, and most recently, analog/digital and digital/analog converter design.

The first time I ever heard stereo sound, it was in a shop on Manhattan's Radio Row. In addition to the Studer staggered-head tape deck, the system consisted of pairs of McIntosh C8 preamps, MC60 power amps, and monster Bozak B-310 speakers. I can still picture the room and almost hear the sound. I was then an impecunious high-schooler, and while I always strived to buy the best equipment I could afford, I unfortunately was never able to own any of these iconic products. However, when I saw McIntosh's new MC303 three-channel power amp glowing brightly on silent display at the 2008 CEDIA Expo, a light bulb went on over my head: I'd been assessing a series of three-channel and monoblock amps, and the MC303 would fit nicely into my New York City system.