LATEST ADDITIONS

The subject of audiophile-grade AC outlets, which I have been discussing in previous Fine Tunes" columns is more contentious than I'd ever imagined. In August's episode of "Fine Tunes," I forwarded you an e-mail from audio worthy Glen Bartholomew, who waxed poetic about the inexpensive and therefore (he felt) oft-overlooked hospital-grade devices from Leviton. He found the Levitons to be the equals of, if not better than, the Hubbell, Bryant, and Eagle units I'd previously recommended.

<B>In the Beginning Was the Word...</B> <BR> At first blush, the sound of the Vandersteen Model 2Ce Signature transported me to a bucolic nature trail in the Berkshires on one of those high, dry August days when the amber stillness of late afternoon imparts a sense of otherness against the endless vistas of green and brown and blue. In my Wordsworthian reverie, as I made my way up the mountainside, remembrances of venerable loudspeakers past called out to me from the sturdy stands of New England foliage. Mark you the lofty maple and the supple white birch; the noble pine, the mighty oak and humble larch; there, on the crest, an Acoustic Research AR3a; farther up the ridge, a copse of Advent, KLH, and Allison&mdash;and finally, high on yonder peak, beckoning like God's own flip-top, crush-proof box, the Vandersteen 2Ce Signature.

The urge to upgrade audio components seems endemic to the condition of being an audiophile. Which of the following is usually your main reason for upgrading?

The dawning of the age of inexpensive universal DVD-Audio/SACD/CD players may finally be upon us. <A HREF="http://www.cirruslogic.com/">Cirrus Logic</A> recently announced the introduction of their CS4392 integrated circuit chip, which the company describes as a high-performance Crystal digital/analog converter that "delivers unrivaled sound quality while providing manufacturers a cost-effective solution for next-generation DVD-based audio products including DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD) players."

For the 109th convention of the <A HREF="http://www.aes.org/">Audio Engineering Society</A>, the main floor of the L.A. Convention Center was transformed into a bazaar of new tools for audio professionals&mdash;but the panel discussions upstairs were where the real action took place. On Friday, September 22&mdash;just an hour before researchers Dr. Stanley Lipshitz and John Vanderkooy of Ontario's University of Waterloo presented a paper offering a mathematical proof for the "imperfectability" of one-bit delta-sigma recording systems&mdash;Sony Corporation issued a clarification of the technical standards for its Direct Stream Digital technology, the basis of the Super Audio Compact Disc. DSD, it now appears, is a one-bit technique as it applies to consumer playback systems, but uses a multi-bit PCM quantizer [<I>presumably within a delta-sigma converter negative-feedback loop; see an article on this subject in the forthcoming November issue of </I>Stereophile<I>&mdash;Ed.</I>] at the recording and mastering ends of the business. (The Lipshitz/Vanderkooy paper is available as AES preprint #5188.)

E<I>ditor's Note: This is Part Six of a six-part series from reader Herv&#233; Del&#233;traz of Switzerland, who has chronicled the development of his DIY (do-it-yourself) audio amplifier.

Every once in a while, John Atkinson comes across a speaker that redefines the boundaries of what is possible with the moving-coil loudspeaker approach established 60 years ago by Rice and Kellogg. JA feels that the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/272/">B&W John Bowers Silver Signature loudspeaker</A> is just such a product, and puts it through its paces to reveal its significant virtues and minor faults.