Sometimes products are too cheap for their own good, and people don't take them seriously: the Superphon Revelation Basic Dual Mono preamp, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/184rega">Rega RB300</A> arm, AR ES-1 turntable, Shure V15-V MR cartridge, and the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/675">B&amp;K ST-140</A> power amp. They can't be any good because they cost so little, right?

In my last post (and the story of why it was so long ago is an epic which I won't go into now), I observed that the listener I am today is a completely different critter than the one I was years ago. It's inevitable that time, experience, and liff its ownself change us&#151;and change the way we perceive art.

Many audiophiles who have only recently subscribed to <I>Stereophile</I> will be surprised to find that those clunky, heat-producing, short-lived tubes that reigned up through the mid-'60s are still Executive Monarchs in the mid-'80s. Why, for Heaven's sake? Because, despite everything, people <I>like</I> them.

Many audiophiles who have only recently subscribed to <I>Stereophile</I> will be surprised to find that those clunky, heat-producing, short-lived tubes that reigned up through the mid-'60s are still Executive Monarchs in the mid-'80s. Why, for Heaven's sake? Because, despite everything, people <I>like</I> them.