Added to the Archives This Week

Earlier this year, Kalman Rubinson spent some time with the Rotel RB 1080 power amplifier. "What could be easier to review than a power amplifier? No features or functions aside from inputs, outputs, and a power switch," remarks KR. But as Rubinson finds, it's the details that count.

Wes Phillips wanted to review the company's V-3 power amp, but found out he really needed to review the Ayre Acoustics K-1 preamplifier. Phillips provides the details. Also included this week is an interview WP conducted with the preamp's designer, Ayre Acoustics' Charlie Hansen.

J. Gordon Holt's 1979 review of the Berning TF-10 preamplifier holds a special place in Stereophile history: The unit under test ended up being JGH's reference throughout the 1980s, and was preserved in a place of reverence throughout the rest of the magazine's tenure in Santa Fe. May it rest in peace.

In 1995, John Atkinson caught up with one of Mondial Designs' founders and interviewed him in Tony Federici: Accurate in the USA. The big mystery: What could drive an otherwise sane person to start an audio company?

Finally, the latest addition to our "Recording of the Month" series for the online archives, Recording of February 1998: Sacred Steel. About this one-of-a-kind gem, Robert Baird reflects, "For the uninitiated, the most intriguing part of sacred steel playing is trying to wrap your mind around the concept."

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