LATEST ADDITIONS

"Hey! Make sure you mention my name in your article! I don't want you taking all the credit."

For the December issue, <I>Stereophile</I> will be running its "Product of the Year" results. But what would <I>you</I> nominate for best product of 1999?

While it's not exactly a stampede just yet, a small dust cloud is rising as several consumer-electronics manufacturers head toward the Internet to sell products. Last week, citing the need to "maintain the highest quality customer service in the new e-commerce era," <A HREF="http://www.denon.com/">Denon Electronics</A> joined the online sales herd. In an effort to keep track of e-commerce vendors, the company has announced that it will establish a separate authorization agreement for retailers handling Denon and/or Mission products on the Internet.

More members of the <A HREF="http://www.cedia.org/">Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association</A> (CEDIA) are doing retail sales than ever before, although not necessarily out of traditional retail locations, according to new statistics released by the organization. In addition, an increasing number of referrals come from builders rather than from interior designers and architects, indicating that home buyers see home theater and distributed music systems as valuable features.

Robert Deutsch writes that "There's a well-known tradeoff in speaker design between sound quality for one listener vs. multiple listeners." But his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/166/">Dunlavy SC-IV/A loudspeaker</A> reveals that, in the hands of a great designer, these limitations can sometimes be transcended. How did John Dunlavy do it? Deutsch gets to the bottom of this, and more.

<B>TAJ MAHAL & TOUMANI DIABATE: <I>Kulanjan</I></B><BR> Hannibal HNCD 1444 (CD). 1999. Joe Boyd, prod.; Jerry Boys, eng. AAD TT: 59:02<BR> Performance <B>*****</B><BR> Sonics <B>*****</B>

So here I am expounding on the tendency of audio components---especially tubes, capacitors, and resistors---to become microphonic, and you're wondering how you can find out if there's any of that shakin' goin' on in your system. And you want to do it easily and for next to nothing. The first thing you do, then, is listen carefully to Victor Tiscareno of AudoPrism. The following is his big idea, and a damn good one it is.