LATEST ADDITIONS

I'd heard many times over the years that the Warsaw Show—officially called Audio Video Show 2022—was a "great" show. But that gives barely a hint of the special nature of this show, the second largest audio show in Europe.

Checking in exclusively with the producers behind the massive new box set for Queen's stunning May 1989 album The Miracle, to learn why you'll want it all—and you'll want it now.

I spoke with people working in hi-fi to get a sense for how the industry is evolving. Here's one way: Some companies at the market's higher end are eschewing the traditional distribution model, in which a domestic company serves as middleman for products from overseas, buying and reselling inventory to dealers and then providing support. In the newer model, distribution services are provided by the overseas manufacturing company itself, either directly or via a US subsidiary. Brinkmann, dCS, Estelon, Gryphon, and T+A employ variations on the model.

The year 1965 was turbulent, pivotal, and consequential. LBJ sent soldiers to the Dominican Republic, stepped into Vietnam with both feet, and signed laws expanding voting rights and creating Medicare and Medicaid. Antiwar protests gathered steam, Bob Dylan went electric, the Beatles played Shea Stadium, Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game, and pioneering DJ Alan Freed died.

Sometimes it's good to step outside your comfort zone. In fact, I relish new and novel experiences. It's a major reason I enjoy attending hi-fi shows and events: for the chance to see and hear new things—new hi-fi equipment, especially equipment that's groundbreaking or unusual.

My wife saw me putting on my new LP of Joni Mitchell's great For the Roses album and said: "Oh, our breakup album!" Never mind the confusing details—we're obviously still (or again) together—that's how intense the bonds are for many people with Joni's music: We people of a certain age set the clock of our lives by her recordings.