LATEST ADDITIONS

In a gesture that mirrors a <A HREF="http://www.eff.org/share/petition/">petition</A&gt; the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) is presenting to Congress, Flowerburger Records is circulating a <A HREF="http://www.flowerburger.com/">petition</A&gt; requesting that the British Parliament and the BPI, Britain's recording industry trade group, stop the lawsuits against music fans and develop constructive alternatives aimed at compensating artists.

A highlight of recent Home Entertainment Shows has been the Sunday afternoon "Analog Clinic" presented by <I>Stereophile</I> senior editor Michael Fremer. Michael, who writes about vinyl playback every month in his "Analog Corner" column, spends an hour showing Show attendees how to set up a turntable and how to optimize the tonearm geometry. To judge by the attendance at Home Entertainment 2006, held last month in Los Angeles, this is a popular subject these days.

As I trundled the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/477">WATT/Puppys</A&gt; off to the <I>Stereophile</I> laboratory complex for our test procedures (see my review in the last issue), I idly wondered to myself, "Gee, what am I going to do for an encore?" Visions of exotic butterfly-like horns danced in my head (nope, J-10 Scull gets those babies). I was tantalized by the call of ambitiously designed behemoths (Major Tom gets those, he's got the room for 'em). Maybe some jewel-like, state-of-the-art minimonitors? (JA glommed 'em&mdash;editor's prerogative, y'know.) So what does that leave me?

Ever since the 1960s, when I built a pair of Altec A7 clones, I've had a preference for relatively big speakers. Yes, I was seduced by the Stax F-81 electrostatics because of their incredibly low coloration, but inevitably I felt the need to return to something that would move more air. Regardless of the type of music (I do like the big stuff) or the sound levels, unless the sound has solidity and size, I can't easily suspend disbelief.

"Are your windows open?" sales manager Laura LoVecchio asked today.

In this digital life we’re all now living does it get any better than calling AOL and canceling an account? I hate to be <I>Flashdance</I> about this but—Oh, what a feeling!