LATEST ADDITIONS

It's the sad realization at the heart of every product review: No matter what the writer has to say, the reader may hear things—or see or feel or taste things—rather differently. I refer not only to physiological differences in hearing acuity from person to person, but also to the no-less-critical differences in the ways we process and prioritize the things we perceive. It's an oft-made point that bears any amount of repetition: In our pugilistic little pastime, the priorities of the listener who values, say, fidelity to the musical timing captured in a recording over fidelity to that recording's timbral truths are no less legitimate than those of the enthusiast whose priorities are the other way around. Both approaches—and any number of others—bend toward the sun of high fidelity.

These kids were focused and motivated. In other words, RSD works.

A couple of months ago, I listened to a prototype of the Sonoma Acoustics electrostatic Model One Headphone System ($5000) at CanJam NYC, so I was excited for the opportunity to have some more one-on-one time with a production model of the system at AXPONA.