Magnepan's Wendell Diller promised to demonstrate "an intriguing solution to the center channel," which was nebulous enough. Imagine my surprise when he demoed his new solution with a stereo! A three channel stereo, true, but a stereo nonetheless.

Don't get me wrong, I heard some very good two-channel sound at CEDIA—Thiel and Wisdom Audio leap to mind—but arriving at the Edge Electronics/PBN Montana room at T.H.E. Show was a breath of fresh air. Why? The Denver Convention Center is a noisy place and even the "rooms" are merely shells set up within that vast space. The Denver Athletic Club is both solidly built and quiet.

I've been loving the soap opera epic of the <A HREF="http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/purported-pollock-paintings… Matter "Pollocks"</A>currently on display at the <A HREF="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/02/did_pollock_paint_… Museum of Art</A>.

I grew up in Charlottesville, VA, where E.A. Poe briefly attended college without matriculating. I used to visit Poe's bedchamber, which has been preserved as a memorial,and gawp at artifacts that almost certainly had no connection to him. Somehow I had the impression that we Charlottesvillians appreciated his gothic world view more than other folks.

A study delves the link between political views and cognitive style.

More on Hattogate. A <I>lot</I> more.

There's always a certain amount of jockeying for position at the very top of the High End. Every few months, a new star burns brightly, getting all the attention. While the constant turnover at the cutting edge helps to define the state of the art, audiophiles should keep their eyes on the longer term. It's a company's track record&mdash;examined over a period of years&mdash;which defines its position in the market and the credibility of its products.