<B>Editor's Note: </B><I>Those of us who cut our engineering teeth on tubes still remember the advent of the solid-state amplifier with mixed feelings. Yes, they were lighter and cheaper per watt than the thermionic hulks we loved so much, but they broke all the time (thanks to the germanium transistor) and sounded like&mdash;well, let J. Gordon Holt tell us what they sounded like in an "As We See It" article from Vol.1 No.10, first published in May 1965. We also develop the theme with a JGH review of an early transistorized amp, as well as a selection of readers' letters from the early days of </I>Stereophile<I>. Enjoy.</I>&mdash;<B>John Atkinson</B>

<B>Editor's Note: </B><I>Those of us who cut our engineering teeth on tubes still remember the advent of the solid-state amplifier with mixed feelings. Yes, they were lighter and cheaper per watt than the thermionic hulks we loved so much, but they broke all the time (thanks to the germanium transistor) and sounded like&mdash;well, let J. Gordon Holt tell us what they sounded like in an "As We See It" article from Vol.1 No.10, first published in May 1965. We also develop the theme with a JGH review of an early transistorized amp, as well as a selection of readers' letters from the early days of </I>Stereophile<I>. Enjoy.</I>&mdash;<B>John Atkinson</B>

"Crossovers? We don't need no stinkin' crossovers!" Most <I>Stereophile</I> readers probably feel this way when it comes to third-party electronic crossovers. In this day of proprietary "soup-to-nuts" speaker systems, nearly all manufacturers supply complete systems. Nevertheless, some brave (or foolish) souls still choose to sail in uncharted crossover waters. Most do so because they're insanely in love with their current speakers, and have an irrational desire for that last bottom octave. Others have "orphaned" speakers that are not readily upgradeable to the next level of performance. I fall into the second category.

"Crossovers? We don't need no stinkin' crossovers!" Most <I>Stereophile</I> readers probably feel this way when it comes to third-party electronic crossovers. In this day of proprietary "soup-to-nuts" speaker systems, nearly all manufacturers supply complete systems. Nevertheless, some brave (or foolish) souls still choose to sail in uncharted crossover waters. Most do so because they're insanely in love with their current speakers, and have an irrational desire for that last bottom octave. Others have "orphaned" speakers that are not readily upgradeable to the next level of performance. I fall into the second category.

"Crossovers? We don't need no stinkin' crossovers!" Most <I>Stereophile</I> readers probably feel this way when it comes to third-party electronic crossovers. In this day of proprietary "soup-to-nuts" speaker systems, nearly all manufacturers supply complete systems. Nevertheless, some brave (or foolish) souls still choose to sail in uncharted crossover waters. Most do so because they're insanely in love with their current speakers, and have an irrational desire for that last bottom octave. Others have "orphaned" speakers that are not readily upgradeable to the next level of performance. I fall into the second category.

"Crossovers? We don't need no stinkin' crossovers!" Most <I>Stereophile</I> readers probably feel this way when it comes to third-party electronic crossovers. In this day of proprietary "soup-to-nuts" speaker systems, nearly all manufacturers supply complete systems. Nevertheless, some brave (or foolish) souls still choose to sail in uncharted crossover waters. Most do so because they're insanely in love with their current speakers, and have an irrational desire for that last bottom octave. Others have "orphaned" speakers that are not readily upgradeable to the next level of performance. I fall into the second category.

"Crossovers? We don't need no stinkin' crossovers!" Most <I>Stereophile</I> readers probably feel this way when it comes to third-party electronic crossovers. In this day of proprietary "soup-to-nuts" speaker systems, nearly all manufacturers supply complete systems. Nevertheless, some brave (or foolish) souls still choose to sail in uncharted crossover waters. Most do so because they're insanely in love with their current speakers, and have an irrational desire for that last bottom octave. Others have "orphaned" speakers that are not readily upgradeable to the next level of performance. I fall into the second category.

"Crossovers? We don't need no stinkin' crossovers!" Most <I>Stereophile</I> readers probably feel this way when it comes to third-party electronic crossovers. In this day of proprietary "soup-to-nuts" speaker systems, nearly all manufacturers supply complete systems. Nevertheless, some brave (or foolish) souls still choose to sail in uncharted crossover waters. Most do so because they're insanely in love with their current speakers, and have an irrational desire for that last bottom octave. Others have "orphaned" speakers that are not readily upgradeable to the next level of performance. I fall into the second category.