I don't know who originated the idea of "desert island" recordings. I do know that for many years there was a BBC radio program in the UK that asked celebrities to list their choices. While reading quite a few of those lists, I had the sneaking suspicion that the respondents either hadn't entered fully into the spirit of the task, or were tailoring their choices with a view to what the radio or reading audience would think. (Interior monologue: "I am an anorak-wearing viola da gamba player. Hmmm. <I>Birth of the Cool</I> had better be on my list. <I>London Calling</I>, too, just to be safe.")

Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem. The measured performance aberrations are so low in absolute level&mdash;and, more important, so low compared with the typical threshold of human hearing&mdash;that it is difficult to see why digital components should sound different from one another.

Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem. The measured performance aberrations are so low in absolute level&mdash;and, more important, so low compared with the typical threshold of human hearing&mdash;that it is difficult to see why digital components should sound different from one another.

Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem. The measured performance aberrations are so low in absolute level&mdash;and, more important, so low compared with the typical threshold of human hearing&mdash;that it is difficult to see why digital components should sound different from one another.

Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem. The measured performance aberrations are so low in absolute level&mdash;and, more important, so low compared with the typical threshold of human hearing&mdash;that it is difficult to see why digital components should sound different from one another.

Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem. The measured performance aberrations are so low in absolute level&mdash;and, more important, so low compared with the typical threshold of human hearing&mdash;that it is difficult to see why digital components should sound different from one another.

Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem. The measured performance aberrations are so low in absolute level&mdash;and, more important, so low compared with the typical threshold of human hearing&mdash;that it is difficult to see why digital components should sound different from one another.

Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem. The measured performance aberrations are so low in absolute level&mdash;and, more important, so low compared with the typical threshold of human hearing&mdash;that it is difficult to see why digital components should sound different from one another.

Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem. The measured performance aberrations are so low in absolute level—and, more important, so low compared with the typical threshold of human hearing—that it is difficult to see why digital components should sound different from one another.

<I>Theta makes a power amp?</I>