LATEST ADDITIONS

I first encountered Avalon Acoustics' loudspeakers about 20 years ago. The hi-fi shop I worked for sold Jeff Rowland Design Group electronics, and Jeff Rowland insisted that no loudspeaker better showcased his electronics than the Avalons. Rowland sent us a pair of Ascents, and we were startled by their gem-like, faceted cabinets and remarkable soundstaging. As we packed them up to return them to Colorado, I remember thinking, <I>I could live with these speakers.</I>

Last December, when Wadia Digital announced that it was releasing an iPod docking cradle that could access the digital signal <I>before</I> it had passed through the player's own D/A converter, many audiopundits were surprised. <I>I</I> was disbelieving, and nearly told Wadia's John Schaffer that he was shining me on. After all, Apple has tiptoed around the whole issue of consumers being able to digitally copy their iTunes files, going so far as to wrap its iTunes Music Store files in digital rights management (DRM) code.

And tomorrow we leave for Denver to cover "America's Audio Show," the <a href="http://audiofest.net/2008/">Rocky Mountain Audio Fest</a>.

<B>BEN FOLDS: <I>Way to Normal</I></B><BR>
Epic 886970984928 (CD). 2008. Dennis Herring, prod., Joe Costa, eng. AAD? TT: 40:32<BR>
Performance ****&#189;<BR>
Sonics ***

I'm scared. I've just returned from a visit to the isle of my birth, Manhattan. As the spouse and I walked to <I>Stereophile</I>'s <A HREF="http://forum.stereophile.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/114">offices…; to meet John Atkinson and Stephen Mejias for dinner, we passed some of the most valuable real estate in the country. It was hard to imagine that, if global warming continues at its current, ever-accelerating pace, the buildings we were marveling at will soon be below sea level.

STEPHEN MEJIAS<br>
This ravishing yet reticent redhead claims to have been in love on at least three occasions. Though fiery at the start, each romance fizzled with time, unable to live up to Stephen's ideals. She says, "I have no regrets. I would rather be lonely than sorry…"

Reader macksman is curious: What did you listen to last night or during your last listening opportunity. Also, if it wasn't last night, how long ago was it?