Reviewing a vacuum-tube power amplifier is like having your pants pulled down in front of a large crowd of people. I don't know how else to describe the feeling of spending a month or two luxuriating in fabulous sound, then writing a glowing review, then receiving a copy of the review as it will appear in the magazine, complete with John Atkinson's assessment of the amp's test-bench performance, which is usually miserable.

It was 1988. What to do about digital?

It was 1988. What to do about digital?

It was 1988. What to do about digital?

It was 1988. What to do about digital?

It was 1988. What to do about digital?

It was 1988. What to do about digital?

It was 1988. What to do about digital?

John Robinson Pierce, a wide-ranging engineer, inventor, writer, and psychoacoustics researcher, died April 2 at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA. The cause of death was complications from pneumonia. Pierce was 92.