I always seek out Wilson Audio's room at the HE shows. Is it because Wilson always gets great sound? It does&mdash;but, as the big dog on the block, they probably don't <I>have</I> to attend. The company supports the high-end community, not just by showing up, but by sending Peter McGrath and his fabulous recordings.

Balanced Audio Technology's Geoff Poor pats the fevered brow of the REX reference preamplifier ($18,500). With 18 tubes, no wonder it has a fever!

As you can see from Larry Greenhill's photo, Chord's RED Reference CD player ($28,500) is one sexy piece of kit. The gleaming metalwork, the sturdy clamshell clamp, its swooping lines&mdash;it's just gizmoidally drool-worthy.

Larry Greenhill has already blogged about how good the Escalante Fremonts sounded in the Sound By Singer room Escalante shared with VTL. They did a disappearing act that would have done David Blaine proud. I was so impressed, I came back for a second visit and came away even more impressed&mdash;not just with the Fremonts, but with the VTL/dCS system that enabled them to sing like they did.

In one easy lesson!

On May 10, Tweeter Home Entertainment Group announced that it has insufficient working capital to cover its long- and short-term costs and may have to consider filing for Chapter 11. The immediate cause of the shortfall is the cost of closing 49 stores and two distribution centers. <I>This Week in Consumer Electronics</I> reported specifically that lump sum payments to lease-holding landlords was a contributory factor.

Lexington, KY&ndash;based Thiel Audio has announced that it will partner with Charlottesville, VA&ndash;based Crutchfield to offer its speakers online and in Crutchfield brick-and-mortar outlets. Thiel has been famously reluctant to go online, having established itself through its canny vetting of potential retail partners. It kept its distribution clean.