LATEST ADDITIONS

When I went to my shelf of <I>Stereophile</I> back issues to find Paul Bolin's <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/683">seminal review of the Halcro dm58</A>, I was shocked to find myself leafing further and further back&mdash;through not only 2004 but 2003 as well, all the way back to October 2002 (Vol.25 No.10). It doesn't seem possible that it's been almost four years since Halcro exploded onto our radar screens, the dm58 emblazoned on that issue's cover alongside the banner headline "THE BEST AMPLIFIER EVER!"

More than any other component, it is the loudspeaker that seems to invite the most audacious&mdash;some would say flat-out lunatic&mdash;efforts at design. There have been attempts at full-range plasma speakers, speakers one had to hook up to tanks of pressurized gas, speakers with drivers attached to what looked like copper salad bowls (the infamous Tri-Torr of the early 1990s).

<I>Oh mama</I>, was I ever excited when I heard rumors of the existence of AKG's K 701! If you're among the audiophiles who sneer at those of us who <I>like</I> headphones, you're probably rolling your eyes and thinking I must lack a rich inner life.

Alright, Kristina, before you leave us for your boyfriend and Boston, before you dive into ontology and photography, before you dedicate your days to the books and your nights to the booze, before you lose track of the earth's revolutions &#151; keeping time, instead, with semesters and exams &#151; before all of that and everything else, if, in fact, you do decide you want to fill your spare moments with music &#151; good music, produced with magic &#151; then I've found a few things for you to read. I hope this will help.

I'm interested in this subject because my wife is unbelievably sensitive to motion&mdash;planes, boats, the middle seat of an automobile, they all make her ill.

"You don't understand," said Huckleberry. "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it."

As often as I photograph Bagheera, you'd think she get over being surprised by it.