He hadn't released an album in 30 years, but then I guess he was just waiting for the world to catch up to him....

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/18/arts/music/18beefheart.html

Hello, I am on the market for a new preamp and power amp. Would like to buy used machine with a budget of 5-6,000 dollars for both. Thought about Krell + ARC reference preamp. I would appreciate any advise. Thanks. - F.

I love Christmas music and have a decent collection. I would appreciate it if you took some time to share your favorites.

In no particular order, let me start with What I Really Want for Christmas by Brian Wilson. First, the cd cover is the shiniest I have in my entire collection. The music is pure Brian, which is to say wonderful. The title song is wistful and wonderful, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is done straight with great rythym, and Oh Holy Night has Brian singing strong. Most of the titles are traditional and done in a straightforward manner. But oh, those harmonies!

OK, after a lot of carping I tip my toe into the music server game. I own an iMAC with Leopard 10.5.8...I get the highly regarded Channel D Pure Magic software and a lot of digital cable..I set it up per the Pure Magic users guide, get as far as page 4 'Audio MIDI setup' and get to the screen in the operating system that is supposed to match the screen view in the users manual and...AS USUAL, the screen I get does not match nor does it list any Audio input or output options...

Today's NY Times (12/16) has a sarcastic capsule review of the Parasound Halo JC3 phonostage. Normally I would ignore this sort of thing from "the newspaper of record" but the reviewer, Stephen Williams, concludes with this:

"It is also, of course, part of a never-ending chase that defines audiophilia. After all, if you were ever to attain the perfect sound, your hobby would be over."

No sir, you are wrong. The hobby is listening to music not collecting components. The closer we get to the (unobtainable) "perfect sound," the more rewarding the hobby becomes.