Back in March, I wrote a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/images/newsletter/305stph.html">reviewlet</A…; of Channel Islands Audio's VHP&bull;1 headphone amplifier for the <I>Stereophile</I> eNewsletter. (What&mdash;you aren't receiving that free download yet? Well, log on to www.stereophile.com and opt in.) The VHP&bull;1 has continued to enchant me&mdash;reason enough to examine it in greater detail, I reckoned. But the real reason I returned to the VHP&bull;1 ($349) is that CIA's Dusty Vawter recently sent me his new VAC&bull;1 ($159), a replacement power supply for the VHP&bull;1's stock wall-wart supply. Could a new power supply <I>really</I> offer a substantial improvement in performance?

Back in March, I wrote a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/images/newsletter/305stph.html">reviewlet</A…; of Channel Islands Audio's VHP&bull;1 headphone amplifier for the <I>Stereophile</I> eNewsletter. (What&mdash;you aren't receiving that free download yet? Well, log on to www.stereophile.com and opt in.) The VHP&bull;1 has continued to enchant me&mdash;reason enough to examine it in greater detail, I reckoned. But the real reason I returned to the VHP&bull;1 ($349) is that CIA's Dusty Vawter recently sent me his new VAC&bull;1 ($159), a replacement power supply for the VHP&bull;1's stock wall-wart supply. Could a new power supply <I>really</I> offer a substantial improvement in performance?

I recently spent a few days filling in for a local engineer, recording middle-school and high-school bands and choral ensembles. This was a requirement of the statewide music-educator adjudication process. (Don't laugh; recording high-school bands is how Telarc got its start.)

I recently spent a few days filling in for a local engineer, recording middle-school and high-school bands and choral ensembles. This was a requirement of the statewide music-educator adjudication process. (Don't laugh; recording high-school bands is how Telarc got its start.)

Like many specialty audio companies, <A HREF="http://www.nhthifi.com">NHT</A&gt; has had its ups and downs. The Benicia, CA&ndash;based loudspeaker manufacturer, founded by <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/232/">Ken Kantor</A> and Chris Byrne in 1986, was sold to Jensen International in the early 1990s, sold again to accesssories perveyor Recoton, and then acquired (and some would suggest saved) by Rockford Corporation towards the end of 2002.

In an era when music as instant entertainment enjoys increasing dominance over music as art, cellular phones have emerged as the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/101005upod/">latest purveyor of music on demand</A>. Issues of sound quality mean little when the goal is to accumulate more and more files at an ever-accelerating pace and have ever easier access to those files.

Want to improve your hearing? Have someone tickle your toes, or lightly stroke the palm of your hand. Sounds crazy, but it works, and things get even weirder.