In the past year, <I>Stereophile</I> has reviewed a number of cost-no-object flagship loudspeakers. <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/600/">B&W's Signature 800</A>, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/390/">MartinLogan's Prodigy</A>, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/601/">Burmester's B-99</A>, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/556/">Snell's XA Reference Tower</A>, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/382/">Krell's LAT-1</A>, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/555/">Linn's Komri</A>, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/501/">Dynaudio's Evidence Temptation</A>, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/391/">Sony's ES SS-M9ED</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/644/">Rockport's Antares</A> have all passed through the review mill. Manufacturers like to submit their flagships for review for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the pride they take in showing what their engineers can do when given a blank check. However, while all these models do indeed provide great (if different) sound for the tens of thousands of dollars they demand from their owners, they are out of reach of the majority of audiophiles. It is important, therefore, for reviewers to spend time with real-world designs; when I heard the $1990/pair CS1.6 from Kentucky's Thiel at the 2002 CES last January, I requested a pair for review.

<B>BEETHOVEN & MENDELSSOHN: <I>Violin Concertos</I></B><BR> Joshua Bell, violin; Roger Norrington, Camerata Salzburg<BR> Sony Classical SK 89505 (CD). 2002. Andrew Keener, prod.; Arne Akselberg, eng. DDD. TT: 69:58<BR> Performance <B>*****</B><BR> Sonics <B>*****</B>

I had mixed feelings about reviewing the $189/pair Paradigm Atom loudspeaker. Although in the past I've been favorably impressed with Paradigm's speakers&mdash;the $600/pair <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/628/">Reference Studio/20</A> remains one of my favorite affordables&mdash;Budget Bob tends to get a bit nervous when a speaker's price drops below $250/pair. In my experience, even when the most talented speaker designers attempt to make a speaker to sell at such a low price, the result is often a very small cabinet with limited bass extension and inferior high-level dynamics.

I had mixed feelings about reviewing the $189/pair Paradigm Atom loudspeaker. Although in the past I've been favorably impressed with Paradigm's speakers&mdash;the $600/pair <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/628/">Reference Studio/20</A> remains one of my favorite affordables&mdash;Budget Bob tends to get a bit nervous when a speaker's price drops below $250/pair. In my experience, even when the most talented speaker designers attempt to make a speaker to sell at such a low price, the result is often a very small cabinet with limited bass extension and inferior high-level dynamics.

I had mixed feelings about reviewing the $189/pair Paradigm Atom loudspeaker. Although in the past I've been favorably impressed with Paradigm's speakers&mdash;the $600/pair <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/628/">Reference Studio/20</A> remains one of my favorite affordables&mdash;Budget Bob tends to get a bit nervous when a speaker's price drops below $250/pair. In my experience, even when the most talented speaker designers attempt to make a speaker to sell at such a low price, the result is often a very small cabinet with limited bass extension and inferior high-level dynamics.

I had mixed feelings about reviewing the $189/pair Paradigm Atom loudspeaker. Although in the past I've been favorably impressed with Paradigm's speakers&mdash;the $600/pair <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/628/">Reference Studio/20</A> remains one of my favorite affordables&mdash;Budget Bob tends to get a bit nervous when a speaker's price drops below $250/pair. In my experience, even when the most talented speaker designers attempt to make a speaker to sell at such a low price, the result is often a very small cabinet with limited bass extension and inferior high-level dynamics.

I had mixed feelings about reviewing the $189/pair Paradigm Atom loudspeaker. Although in the past I've been favorably impressed with Paradigm's speakers&mdash;the $600/pair <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/628/">Reference Studio/20</A> remains one of my favorite affordables&mdash;Budget Bob tends to get a bit nervous when a speaker's price drops below $250/pair. In my experience, even when the most talented speaker designers attempt to make a speaker to sell at such a low price, the result is often a very small cabinet with limited bass extension and inferior high-level dynamics.

For his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/658/">Nagra VPA monoblock power amplifier</A>, Jonathan Scull lived a life of danger, noting that readers should "Respect the VPA as the hot-running, high-voltage device it is and It Will Provide. Cold-nosed pets and curious little fingers have no business around these Swiss Guards of quality sound engineering."

The US economy took a severe downturn last year following the terrorist attacks of September 11, and this year has been hit by the stock market's decline in the wake of the accounting scandal&ndash;fueled collapse of Enron and WorldCom, Inc. Electronics retailers have ridden out the slump fairly well, buoyed by a consumer trend toward "cocooning," or putting their disposable income into their homes. For most retailers, the popularity of DVD and home theater has offset diminishing sales of stand-alone audio.