It was Monday night and I was flipping through the racks at Other Music, killing time before heading over to Great Jones Café where I’d meet Michael Lavorgna and John DeVore for wings, chili, and beer. I noticed a couple of dudes in loose clothes, slung back and stretched out across the A, B, and C sections of the vinyl racks, as if they owned the place, as if this was their couch. From what I could tell, they were musicians, stopping by the shop to drop off some CDs or LPs. Nearby, another dude was getting into with one of the guys behind the counter:

Click here to see a picture of Michael Fremer at Austin's SXSW conference, standing in front of a bright orange Chevy, while tossing an LP&#151attempting to catch an LP?&#151and spinning in circles.

What the?

I feel sick.

Today, Sennheiser announced that the HD 515 ($129.95), a classic circumaural design, is the company’s “Headphone of the Month” for March 2011.

Sennheiser’s “Headphone of the Month” is a monthly promotion designed to encourage music lovers to experience the authentic sound of Sennheiser.

Customers who purchase an HD 515 headphone from an authorized Sennheiser dealer during the month of March can receive a free pair of Sennheiser OMX 60 earbuds. During January’s 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, I stopped for a bit to listen to the HD 515; despite its size, I found the HD 515 to be very comfortable and easy on my head, while the sound was just as easy on my ears.

For more specs on the HD 515 and information on the promotion, visit the “Headphone of the Month” website.

If all goes as planned, my review of Colin Stetson’s second solo album, New History Warfare, Vol. 2: Judges, will appear in our June issue, but I can’t wait that long to tell you about it. It’s too special to keep secret.

Glenn Barr displays his "Vinyl Girl." Photo: 1xRUN.

1xRUN hopes to create a more vibrant art market by offering select work from established and emerging artists in limited-edition, exclusive print runs, at affordable prices. Signed and authenticated, these print releases are open for one week only.

The current run is a piece called “Vinyl Girl” by Glenn Barr, whose work includes the background styling for The Ren and Stimpy Show and Bjork’s “I Miss You” video. The 16” x 25” five-color silkscreen costs $60.

(Girls love vinyl, I am telling you.)

In my review of Krell's FBI integrated amplifier in the July 2007 issue, I noted that $16,500 (it now costs $18,000) seemed an astonishing chunk of change to spend on a product category generally associated with "budget" gear. Now, the 2011 edition of the Stereophile Buyer's Guide lists no fewer than 19 companies selling integrated amps for five figures—one goes for $100,000!—which perhaps suggests that economic slumps prod even the well-heeled to alter their habits. There are, after all, advantages to cramming a preamplifier and a power amplifier into a single box: you need one less pair of interconnects, one less power socket, one less cabinet shelf. And if the integrated contains state-of-the-art parts, elegant circuitry, and a hefty power supply, what's the problem?

And so we have Simaudio Ltd., the veteran Canadian high-end electronics firm, leaping into this realm after 30 years of business with the Moon 700i, priced at $12,000—only two-thirds the price of the Krell, but aimed at the same downsizing but still toney demographic.