But the latest excavation from the Miles Davis archive, The Original Mono Recordings, nine CDs of the nine albums made for Columbia from 1955–63, is an exception, a set worthy of attention—though not so much because the discs are in mono.

Boy is it a good time to be in the market for a $300-$400 sealed headphone. Offerings like the Sennheiser Momentum, NAD VISO HP50, and B&W P7 provides consumers with some very good choices. Now you can add two more: The Focal Spirit Professional and The Focal Spirit Classic.

Ken Shindo, the Japanese audio designer whose electronics, loudspeakers, and accessories have influenced the parallel worlds of tube audio and analog audio, and who is shown above (right) with loudspeaker designer John DeVore, died late last month after a brief illness. He was 74.