It began when my oldest brother, 13 years my senior, returned from military service and told me about "hi-fi." Until then, all I'd known was our ancient tabletop radio-phonograph with its insatiable appetite for osmium styli. Back then, in the early 1950s, audio componentry was scrappy, still evolving from World War II military electronics and public-address systems. I began reading the electronics magazines and learned that, to get started, I needed a record player connected to an amplifier and a speaker. I toured the shops and stalls on old Cortlandt Street, before the building of the World Trade Center, and made my selections based on appearance, reputation, and specifications rather than on sound. Still, compared to what we were used to, the results sounded hair-raisingly good.

It began when my oldest brother, 13 years my senior, returned from military service and told me about "hi-fi." Until then, all I'd known was our ancient tabletop radio-phonograph with its insatiable appetite for osmium styli. Back then, in the early 1950s, audio componentry was scrappy, still evolving from World War II military electronics and public-address systems. I began reading the electronics magazines and learned that, to get started, I needed a record player connected to an amplifier and a speaker. I toured the shops and stalls on old Cortlandt Street, before the building of the World Trade Center, and made my selections based on appearance, reputation, and specifications rather than on sound. Still, compared to what we were used to, the results sounded hair-raisingly good.

"Are You a Sharpener or a Leveler?" was the title of my "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/are_you_a_sharpener_or_a_leveler">… We See It</A>" in the February 2009 issue. The terms <I>sharpening</I> and <I>leveling</I> come from work in the field of perception by the early Gestalt psychologists, <I>sharpening</I> referring to the exaggeration of perceived differences, <I>leveling</I> to the minimization of those differences.

"Are You a Sharpener or a Leveler?" was the title of my "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/are_you_a_sharpener_or_a_leveler">… We See It</A>" in the February 2009 issue. The terms <I>sharpening</I> and <I>leveling</I> come from work in the field of perception by the early Gestalt psychologists, <I>sharpening</I> referring to the exaggeration of perceived differences, <I>leveling</I> to the minimization of those differences.

"Are You a Sharpener or a Leveler?" was the title of my "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/are_you_a_sharpener_or_a_leveler">… We See It</A>" in the February 2009 issue. The terms <I>sharpening</I> and <I>leveling</I> come from work in the field of perception by the early Gestalt psychologists, <I>sharpening</I> referring to the exaggeration of perceived differences, <I>leveling</I> to the minimization of those differences.

"Are You a Sharpener or a Leveler?" was the title of my "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/are_you_a_sharpener_or_a_leveler">… We See It</A>" in the February 2009 issue. The terms <I>sharpening</I> and <I>leveling</I> come from work in the field of perception by the early Gestalt psychologists, <I>sharpening</I> referring to the exaggeration of perceived differences, <I>leveling</I> to the minimization of those differences.

"Are You a Sharpener or a Leveler?" was the title of my "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/are_you_a_sharpener_or_a_leveler">… We See It</A>" in the February 2009 issue. The terms <I>sharpening</I> and <I>leveling</I> come from work in the field of perception by the early Gestalt psychologists, <I>sharpening</I> referring to the exaggeration of perceived differences, <I>leveling</I> to the minimization of those differences.

"Are You a Sharpener or a Leveler?" was the title of my "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/are_you_a_sharpener_or_a_leveler">… We See It</A>" in the February 2009 issue. The terms <I>sharpening</I> and <I>leveling</I> come from work in the field of perception by the early Gestalt psychologists, <I>sharpening</I> referring to the exaggeration of perceived differences, <I>leveling</I> to the minimization of those differences.