I thought this months issue was one of the years best. Lots of affordable stuff and relevant side by side comparisons of two affordable speakers in the Atom and Alpha B1.

JA measures both in WP's room and Wes gives them a subjective comparison. Since these two speakers are probably going to compete directly with a large number of prospective purchasers, the review is particularly useful.

I want to back up (NOT get rid of) a lot of my vinyl records and cassettes. There's a $300 Teac CD recorder that will do that - hooks up to the stereo, has analog input. Wouldn't have to bother hauling my computer to the stereo or vice versa. Worthwhile? I would consider spending some more, if it gave notably better results. Looking forward to advice, thanks.

Next year will be my sophomore year at college. In preparation for that year, I'm purchasing some audio equipment, as I was sorely lacking what I wanted last year. I've picked out my receiver and my bookshelf speakers (the PSB Alpha B1 I saw promoted here all throughout past pages), and now I'm looking for a turntable.

I have about 200 dollars to spend, though I could go a little higher if I needed to, and I was wondering what the greater community would recommend I buy.

Is the price cap I set on it unreasonable?

What do I need to know about buying a turntable?

Although I do enjoy listening to my old LPs, I also like the portability, playlist feature and spontaneity of my mp3 player - and the ability to hook a friend's (or my son's) player to my system. I've noticed, however, that plugging the player directly into the aux input of my old Fisher receiver requires me crank up the volume much higher than when I'm playing a CD or LP - which led me to think of how I could boost the gain.

I am looking at a surround sound system for the first time.

I have just received a quote from a local dealer for the following system. I am interested in if this is a good system for first time.

Marantz SR 4001 receiver
Paradigm Atom Speakers
Paradigm Cinema center channel
Paradigm PDR-8 subwoofer
Paradigm PV60R ceiling surround
Total @$1,500

I am also considering Onkyo TXSR605 receiver and BW 300 series speakers.

Any thoughts or suggestions?