All the best to Sam. I hope his recovery is going well. I missed his column in this issue. Come back soon, Sam/Tom

Reading the letter posted by Tom Craggs of Blue Oasis Audio, chiding Sam Tellig for turning the readers onto headphones and their availability on the Internet, made me grind my teeth. When are audio dealers going to understand the concept of competition? When are they going to understand the concept of price competition? You can't hide your head in the sand pretending the Internet and Internet based bargains don't exist and then blame writers for pointing out that there is an Internet and dealers selling the same products there.

The new Mudcrutch LP is being sold with a CD of the album taken from the vinyl mix - i.e. minus the terrible compression used for the CD-only release!

I'd like to see an analysis of the mainstream CD vs. the "vinyl-based" CD and look at the dynamic range.

What a cool trend this could be!

Hi

I got sidetracked from getting a new turnatble but im now back on track.

Ive looked at the VPI scout and while i know its a well respected product it just doesnt feel right to me so its out. Im looking at the following

Roksan Radius 5 - Looks funky but seems to be OK

Nottingham Interspace - Seems very well made and great arm

Clearaudio performance - looks fantastic but is the high end of budget, the magnetic bearing seems like a great idea.

i just got these speakers from a garage sale, they are supposed to be "white van speakers". they are not bad for just playing loud music and to mess around with, never hooked them up to my yamaha reciever, just using a old technics for now, sounds pretty good, bass is loud and deep. anyone else got these?

I need to replace iPod earbuds...
I do have a pair of Grados for home stereo listening; and have a pair of iGrados for portable listening - BUT - I rarely use those, since when I listen out of the house it's usually at the gym, and I'm sweaty. So i prefer earbuds there, so far. I tried a pair of cheap Sennheisers and they sucked. Tried some cheap Sony ones and some other brand and they sucked. I didn't get a good fit or sound with the $60 Apple in-ears. So far the Apple 'buds are the best at under $30. Any other candidates?