LATEST ADDITIONS

Harmonia Distribution brought a respectable system to CAF, including a Grimm Audio MU2 Media Player Streamer Preamplifier ($17,500), PrimaLuna EVO 400 Tube Preamplifier ($4995), and a product I raved about at Stereophile and continue to use, the PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid Power Amplifier ($7195).

The least surprising story in music today is the inevitable passing of irreplaceable talent. Tenor saxophonist Benny Golson died at age 95 the day I finished this salute to another fallen star, Southern California singer/songwriter John David "JD" Souther.

This is the CAF room that all my audio running buddies and even non-buddies told me about: Songer Audio.

I strolled in and took a seat in front of a LampizatOr Atlantic 3 TRP DAC ($7325), an Innuos Statement Next-Gen Server & Streamer ($25,000), and Phoenix NET Network Switch ($4349). These components fed a Whammerdyne Heavy Industries DGA-Ultra 2A3 Integrated Amplifier ($5995). Whammerdyne Heavy Industries sounds like a Roadrunner cartoon company gone wrong, but I stayed put.

Traditionally in hi-fi, "distribution" refers to importing and warehousing audio equipment then delivering it as needed to a network of domestic dealers. In recent years, that model has evolved. Distributors have expanded the range of services they offer, and an increasing number of companies are skipping the distributor step altogether: dCS and T+A, among other companies, have established wholly owned subsidiaries in the US to handle importation, local warehousing, and other domestic duties. They and others have hired full-service sales and marketing agents, sometimes called "brand ambassadors." The goal, of course, is to make the practice of getting a product into the country and on the radar of dealers and customers as efficient and effective as possible.