In the brief discussion of Stephen Mejias' Blog which JA includes in "As We See It", He states that feedback from 20-somethings has been positive and that there have been expressions of disgust from 50-somethings. Disgust, indeed. What justifies that? I read Stephens Blog all the time. I'm 60-something, and I don't hang out much anymore with Stephen's crowd. I enjoy getting some indication of what they're up to. Besides, he wirites pretty well, and the Blog isn't taking up space in the mag that might be used for something else "more palatable?".

Aloha, wishing you all a happy and safe Christmas (or other) shopping journey.

Found some cool-ish items I thought I'd mention in case y'all need any ideas.

I am having difficulty with several non-audiophiles that I would like to get gifts for, so any input from you folks would be great!

CD's:

Ok, ok, I know this is probably getting old but let's give it a swing. Let's make it fun and any genre is open to election.

Allison Krauss and Union Station- Beacon Theater

Elvis Costello and the Impostors-Beacon Theater

Antony and the Johnsons- Carnegie Hall

The Decemberists- Webster Hall

The New Pornographers- Maxwell

I have a pair of mint 25 year old Large Advent speakers. I have read that the foam surrounds on these speakers deteriorate with age. How can I tell if my speakers need new surrounds? They look fine and I play them infrequently, but when I do they sound like the day I got them. Any help would be appreciated.

I am seeking simplicity. All the boxes and wires are driving me nuts. Ideally Linn would make a version of the Classik beefed up in the power (120 watts or more) and stripped of all the non-essential features (radio, timer, multi-room, light dimmer switch, toaster oven...). Lacking that, I see two options in a two-box system - note, this would be purely audio, and does not need to connect to TVs or other sources:

(1) a cd player with an integrated amp, or

I listen to all kind of music (except hard rock, metal, trans)
Specially I like classical music, piano, violin, Beethoven, symphonies and I like it sounds emotional so my speakers should tend to classical music more.
I dont think I can buy a speaker just by going to show rooms and listen. For me, it takes long time to feel the quality. Thats is why I will buy speakers based on other people well explained opinions.
I have 4000$ for speakers and 4000$ for amplifier.
Do you know Dynaudio 25 and SF Cremona Auditor ?