LATEST ADDITIONS

The 2008 Vacuum State of the Art Conference & Show will take place on May 24-26 at the Hilton in lovely Vancouver, Washington. VSAC was started in 1997 by Dan and Eileen Schmalle of the Bottlehead Corporation, designers of <a href="http://www.bottlehead.com/et/et.html">some sexy vacuum tube kit amps and preamps</a>. While the Schmalles are no longer involved in managing the conference, they will be on hand as exhibitors, along with many others offering some similarly sexy, tubey goodness (like <a href="http://www.experiencemusic.net/">Experience Music</a>'s The Chase amplifier in the pic above).

Perhaps the greatest praise anyone can let loose upon any silly piece of audio gear is that it inspires the discovery of new music. Right? Alright then. The Rega P3, in all its ashen splendor, does this for me. So much so that I'm going broke. I feel as though I'm single-handedly (with one hand behind my weary back, that is) revitalizing the record industry. I've spent so much money on new (used) records that I could've purchased my own P3 by now. In fact, I've decided that that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to buy my own P3. I'm in the office now, wishing I was home with the P3. I'm proofreading Michael Fremer's review of the P3-24, which will appear in our July issue, and I'm thinking, <i>I'm going to buy this thing.</i>

Today, as every Saturday, I brought my daughter to the stables where she has her riding lessons. But this time was different. As we pulled up the long gravel driveway, we found ourselves dodging a riderless horse, moving at a trot across our path. It turned out that the very cold weather had caused a latch to malfunction&mdash;"gate won't close, railing's froze"&mdash;and five horses had gotten loose.

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US composer Morten Lauridsen's <I>Lux Aeterna</I> is one of the indisputable masterpieces of the 20th century. John Atkinson has recorded the male vocal group Cantus's performances of Lauridsen's <I>O Magnum Mysterium</I> (on <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/1105cantus"><I>Comfort and Joy: Volume One</I></A>, Cantus CTS-1204) and <I>Ave Maria Dulcissima</I> (on <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/121007cantus"><I>Cantus</I></A&gt;, Cantus CTS-1207). (And great recordings they are&mdash;one engineer chum thinks JA's Cantus recording of <I>OMM</I> is the single best-engineered choral recording he's ever heard.)

Personally, I think Pink Floyd should do a reunion tour simply because <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7374994.stm">this</A&gt; would make a fabulous concept album.

Swiss Precision: The Story of the Thorens TD 124 and Other Classic Turntables
Swiss Precision: The Story of the Thorens TD 124 and Other Classic Turntables
by Joachim Bung. Published by Joachim and Angelika Bung, Schmitten, Germany (info@td-124.de), 2008. Hardcover, 288 pages, four-color, ISBN 978-3-00-021162-1. Price: €59 plus overseas mailing.