LATEST ADDITIONS

Was Frank Sinatra's failed marriage to Ava Gardner responsible for one of the greatest <A HREF="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200707/sinatra">comebacks</A&gt; in American art?

It is the audio writer's nightmare that the combination of the large number of exhibitors at a Consumer Electronics Show and the very limited amount of time the Show's doors are open will lead him to miss the event's biggest story. I came close to living that nightmare last January, at the 2007 CES, when I realized that I had missed an entire floor of Las Vegas's Venetian Hotel. And it was, of course, the floor where, among other high-profile high-end companies, Sumiko was debuting the Cremona Elipsa from Italian speaker manufacturer Sonus Faber.

<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/688vandersteen">Richard Vandersteen</A> was in good form at the 20th-anniversary seminar held by retailer Advanced Audio on November 11, 2006. When asked about his priorities in loudspeaker design, he sat erect in the seat next to me and thundered, "I will <I>not</I> [<I>slams table with open hand</I>] spend one red cent on cosmetics that I could have put into improving the sound of a loudspeaker!"

<B>MILES DAVIS: <I>The Complete On the Corner Sessions</I></B><BR>
Miles Davis, trumpet, electric trumpet, electric organ, electric piano, synthesizer; Michael Henderson, (electric bass); Badal Roy (tablas); Dave Leibman, Carlos Garnett, Bennie Maupin, John Stubblefield, Sonny Fortune, Sam Morrison (reeds, flute); Wally Chambers (harmonica); Cornell Dupree, John McLaughlin, Dave Creamer, Reggie Lucas, Pete Cosey, Dominique Gaumont (guitar); Al Foster, Bernard Purdie, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Hart, Pete Cosey (drums); Mtume, Don Alias, Billy Hart (congas, percussion); Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Harold Ivory Williams, Lonnie Liston Smith, Cedric Lawson (keyboards); Colin Walcott, Khalil Balakrishna (electric sitar), Paul Buckmaster (electric cello).<BR>
Columbia/Legacy 88697 06239 2 (6 CDs). 1972&ndash;75/2007. Teo Macero, Billy Jackson, orig. prods.; Bob Belden, Michael Cuscuna, reissue prods.; Stan Tonkel, Don Pulese, Russ Payne, Doug Pomeroy, orig. engs. AAD? TT: 6:47:42<BR>
Performance ****&#189;<BR>
Sonics *****

December 16, 2007 was the 60<SUP>th</SUP> anniversary of the invention of the point transfer transistor. <I>Forbes</I> has an <A HREF="http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/12/15/transister-creation-anniversa…; on it.

One year after the Consumer Electronics Show switched venues from the Alexis Park to The Venetian/Sands Expo and Convention Center, leaving "renegade" exhibitors at T.H.E. Show's less costly St. Tropez venue isolated from the rest of the action, both shows are back stronger than ever. CES's "high-performance audio" exhibits in the Venetian's Tower Suites have increased to 173 from 122, while T.H.E. Show has expanded to a total of 90 exhibit rooms in the Alexis Park and the St. Tropez.

<B>IRebuildMarantz.com:</B> Robert D. Bowdish sent us an email recently, pointing us to his <A HREF="http://www.irebuildmarantz.com/"&gt; IRebuildMarants.com website</A>, which he describes as "my semi-DYI site that's for the purpose of keeping great vintage audio gear alive."