No, that's not a hearing aid growing out of Michael Fremer's pinna—he's the official HE2006 spokesperson, so he has to keep his phone on 24/7. HE says he hasn't heard any truly balanced stereo soundstaging yet, for some reason.

<I>Stereophile</I>'s music editor Robert Baird, caught in the middle of his Garrison Keillor impersonation.

John Atkinson and Jonathan Scull handicap this year's F1 season. You didn't think they were this animated about <I>audio</I>, did you?

Wasn't she just in the background of John and Stephen's picture? We posed her next to the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet's <I>Spin</I> and she really lit up. It's an impressive sounding SACD&mdash;and the group is playing at HE2006 tomorrow. Did I mention the concert was free?

Stephen Mejias and John Atkinson take a few minutes in the hall to catch up on the day's events. That's Telarc's Amanda Sweet in the background.

Close up of the PLC•1 preamp (top) and one of the D•400 monoblocks.

California manufacturer Channel Islands Audio brought two new products to the show: the $895 PLC•1 passive preamp with remote and the $4,500/pr D•400 class-D power amps. Also in the room were the Von Schweikert Audio VR-5SE speakers ($18-22k depending on finish). Sound in the modest hotel room was surprisingly spacious and well-balanced. Left to right in the photo: Albert Von Schweikert, CIA's Dusty Vawter and Greg Schug.

Lipinski Sound's Scott Levitin (left) and Lukas Lipinski

Speaker manufacturer Lipinski Sound was on hand with their surround demo and a new product: The 3601 Powered Stand. Each 3601 sports a two channel amp that can be bridged to be used as a 600 watt monoblock, or set to biamp either a 505 or 707 speaker. Lukas Lipinski says that the powered stands can also be used with other speakers, and have been referenced against other well-known amps. Price is $2,595 each. A quick demo with several types of music proved impressive, even in the confines of a hotel room.

Posted to <I>FlickR</I>, reported at a nanotech firm. Gosh I hope they take it seriously.