I had a wonderful audio moment the other night. It was late in the evening, after a long day. I was standing in the middle of my makeshift listening room&mdash;Trish's dining room&mdash;and in spite of the fact that we were moving in just a few weeks, I'd just unpacked and set up my combo of <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//analogsourcereviews/498/">VPI TNT Mk.V-HR</A> turntable and tonearm with Grado Statement cartridge and dug a box of LPs out of the stacks in the garage. I cued up Dave Brubeck's <I>Time Out</I> (Columbia/Classic CS 8192), and the first notes of "Blue Rondo &#224; la Turk" froze me in my tracks.

I had a wonderful audio moment the other night. It was late in the evening, after a long day. I was standing in the middle of my makeshift listening room&mdash;Trish's dining room&mdash;and in spite of the fact that we were moving in just a few weeks, I'd just unpacked and set up my combo of <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//analogsourcereviews/498/">VPI TNT Mk.V-HR</A> turntable and tonearm with Grado Statement cartridge and dug a box of LPs out of the stacks in the garage. I cued up Dave Brubeck's <I>Time Out</I> (Columbia/Classic CS 8192), and the first notes of "Blue Rondo &#224; la Turk" froze me in my tracks.

Following <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11396/">Apple Computer's lead</A> in bringing high-resolution audio to the computing environment, <A HREF="http://www.soundblaster.com">Creative Technology</A> announced last week several audio products intended to facilitate DVD-Audio playback via personal computer. The company is also offering suggestions for making a PC quiet enough for use in a dedictated listening system.

Everybody's favorite writer (according to the latest <I>Stereophile</I> poll), Sam Tellig, reviews the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/673/">Conrad-Johnson MV60</A> power amplifier and explains "hanging beef." "For $2795, I loved the Conrad-Johnson MV60," says Tellig.

For quite a while now, Pioneer and Marantz have stuck their necks out with the few universal SACD/DVD-A/DVD/CD players available. Not any longer, as <A HREF="http://www.onkyousa.com">Onkyo</A&gt;, Teac and Yamaha join the club with new machines, aimed at consumers hedging their bets as to who will win the high-rez format wars.

<A HREF="http://www.ti.com">Texas Instruments</A> has released a new chip that advances the performance of high-resolution digital audio while limiting consumers' ability to enjoy it.

<I>The Monsters are Due on Maple Street:</I> In the 1960 <I>Twilight Zone</I> episode with this title, inexplicable power outages and celestial lights cause the citizens of an idyllic American town to accuse one other of being aliens. Fear feeds suspicion, hysteria turns to mayhem, and soon lynch mobs roam the streets and former friends are burning down each other's homes.

An expanded alliance between one of the High End's most respected speaker manufacturers and one of the most aggressive upscale retailers should bode well for both partners&mdash;and for music lovers nationwide.