LATEST ADDITIONS

In the fall of 2005, while the People's Republic of China continued to hold political dissidents in prison without due process, the US government wiretapped its citizens with impunity, tensions rose on the border between Chad and Sudan, Israeli citizens annexed thousands of acres of land from poor Palestinian farmers, Saudi Arabia executed more petty thieves and adulterers in the name of Allah, Russia "lost" a few more tons of nuclear armaments, and the polar icecaps continued to recede as the levels of preventable greenhouse emissions climbed out of control, a small band of middle-aged men took to the Internet to express their seething outrage.

Record playback could have been designed to go from the inside out instead of the other way around. With most pieces of music ending louder than they started, doesn't it make more sense to end the side at the widest circumference, longest wavelength, least congested part of the groove spiral? Compact discs read from the center hole out, and they don't even have to.

High-end audio is not a rational construct. It is a sensory experience that leads to emotional engagement. In slightly different words: High-end audio is not about a <I>concept</I>, but about the <I>experience</I> of having our emotions engaged. The difference between reading about a high-end audio system and hearing great recordings played on one is almost as big as the difference between reading a love poem and falling in love.

<B>MAHLER: Symphony 8</B><BR>
Barbara Kubiak, Izabela Klosinska, Marta Boberska, sopranos; Jadwiga Rapp&#233;, Ewa Marciniec, altos; Timothy Bentch, tenor; Wojtek Drabowicz, baritone; Piotr Nowacki, bass; Warsaw National Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra, Polish Radio Choir in Krakow, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University Choir, Warsaw Boys Choir; Antoni Wit, conductor<BR>
Naxos 8.550533-34 (2 CDs). 2006. Andrzej Sasin, Aleksandra Nagorko, prods. DDD. TT: 80:51<BR>
Performance *****<BR>
Sonics *****

This blog has been taken over by the evil genius Huckleberry T. Cat and will no longer parrot the pro-human party line of Wes Phillips <I>et al</I>.

It would have been a very sad story. Having diligently packed the Ayre units and sent them off to lofty Boulder, I was left with empty space. I considered bringing the old Magnavox down from the closet. Luckily, I'd done a bad job of returning the Musical Fidelity A3.5 integrated amp and CD player. Reuniting them with the DeVore gibbon 3 loudspeakers was enlightening.

I was done with shopping. Inside my red cart: lamp and shade, extension cord and powerstrip, four soft white 60W light bulbs, two ice trays. I'd held strong against my urges to purchase a blender, whole wheat pasta, an oak filing cabinet, cotton underwear, a ceramic Japanese dragon, and a <i>Pirates of the Caribbean</i> DVD. However, on my way to the register, my attention was taken by an aisle of stereo components.