LATEST ADDITIONS

<I>Dateline&#151;Chicago, May 30, 9:00pm.</I> Exploding fireworks lit up the sky above the Chicago river as 200 leading high-end designers gathered in the Hotel Intercontinental for <I>Stereophile</I>'s 30th Anniversary banquet. After a repast of four gourmet courses and five wines, the time came for after-dinner speeches to celebrate <I>Stereophile</I>'s past and high-end audio's future. <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/593">Publisher Larry Archibald</A> described his adventurous transition from the high-end car business to risky publishing. Introducing <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/historical/712">J. Gordon Holt</A>, he praised JGH's uniquely lucid writing and his unflinching insistence that equipment designed to reproduce music should be judged on its ability to do just that&#151;the unconventional view that launched high-end audio.

<B>WAGNER: <I>Glenn Gould Conducts &amp; Plays Wagner</I></B><BR>
<I>Siegfried Idyll</I>, original chamber version.* Piano Transcriptions (Gould): <I>Die Meistersinger</I>, Prelude to Act I; <I>G&#246;tterd&#228;mmerung</I>, Dawn &amp; Siegfried's Rhine Journey; <I>Siegfried Idyll</I><BR>
</I>Glenn Gould, piano, piano 4-hands (overdubbed), conductor; members of the Toronto Symphony<BR>
Sony Classical SK 46279 (CD only). Kevin Doyle,* Kent Warden, Frank Dean Dennowitz, engs.; Glenn Gould,* Andew Kazdin, prods. ADD. TT: 71:00

I have not listened to a compact disc at home in <i>months</i>. It's kind of crazy. It kind of makes me feel weird about even <i>having</i> a compact disc player. At some point along the road, I figure I'll transform all of my compact discs into invisible bits and pieces on a hard drive and trade the physical objects for more vinyl.

Some audio products never seem to get old and can hold up over years and decades. Give us an example of timeless design for an audio product.

There is something refreshingly no-nonsense about the design and construction of this turntable. It looks as if someone just said, Okay, this, that, and the other thing need to be done. Let's do it. And then they did it. In appearance at least, it is about as simple a design as you're likely to find. What sets it apart from other simple designs is that this one is built like a battleship! Everything is heavy-duty (notto mention heavy), from the 10-lb, lead-laminated aluminum platter to the ¼"steel-reinforced subchassis.

With all the bargains in value-priced turntables and disc players available right now, what would you recommend that a budding audiophile pick up as his or her first serious source component for less than $1000? Explain.

In June 2007, I again recorded Minnesotan male choir Cantus live on location, this time in the glorious acoustic of Sauder Concert Hall at Goshen College, in Goshen, Indiana. The resultant CD, <I>While You Are Alive</I> (Cantus CTS-1208), is the eighth I have engineered of the group; it is a collection of 20th- and 21st-century works that explores, illuminates, and celebrates all stages of life, from birth to death.