As Robert J. Reina writes in his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/500/">JMlab Chorus 706 loudspeaker</A>, "The most exciting development in audio today isn't multichannel surround, single-ended triodes, or $10,000 phono cartridges. It's 'trickle down.'" Find out just what has trickled into the Chorus from the company's highly regarded Utopia line.

One of the more compelling live demonstrations at last year's 2001 Consumer Electronics Show was in the room at the Alexis Park hosted by Australia's <A HREF="http://www.clarityeq.com">ClarityEQ</A&gt;. As <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10969/">reported last year</A>, using a $350 pair of NHT Super One speakers driven by mass-market consumer gear, the company's PDC-6.6 DSP correction system noticeably improved the midrange tonality and imaging we were hearing each time it was switched into the circuit. This prompted us to give the company the "proof of concept in a hotel room" award for that year.

Few music lovers who grew up in the 1950s and '60s could have failed to be influenced by torch singer Peggy Lee, who died of heart failure at her Bel Air home on Monday, January 21. Lee was 81 and had been in ill health for several years.

The most exciting development in audio today isn't multichannel surround, single-ended triodes, or $10,000 phono cartridges. It's "trickle down." I get buzzed when an audio designer known for cutting-edge multikilobuck designs claims to have a product that can produce 80% of the sonic realism of his flagship design at 50% of the cost. I get even more excited when he does it again&mdash;that is, produces a product that produces 64% of his flagship's performance at 25% of the cost. Designers who have successfully trickled-down their flagship technologies abound in all quarters of audiophilia, from electronics (<I>eg</I>, Audio Research, Conrad-Johnson) to speakers (Al&#243;n, ProAc) to cables (MIT).

The most exciting development in audio today isn't multichannel surround, single-ended triodes, or $10,000 phono cartridges. It's "trickle down." I get buzzed when an audio designer known for cutting-edge multikilobuck designs claims to have a product that can produce 80% of the sonic realism of his flagship design at 50% of the cost. I get even more excited when he does it again&mdash;that is, produces a product that produces 64% of his flagship's performance at 25% of the cost. Designers who have successfully trickled-down their flagship technologies abound in all quarters of audiophilia, from electronics (<I>eg</I>, Audio Research, Conrad-Johnson) to speakers (Al&#243;n, ProAc) to cables (MIT).

The most exciting development in audio today isn't multichannel surround, single-ended triodes, or $10,000 phono cartridges. It's "trickle down." I get buzzed when an audio designer known for cutting-edge multikilobuck designs claims to have a product that can produce 80% of the sonic realism of his flagship design at 50% of the cost. I get even more excited when he does it again&mdash;that is, produces a product that produces 64% of his flagship's performance at 25% of the cost. Designers who have successfully trickled-down their flagship technologies abound in all quarters of audiophilia, from electronics (<I>eg</I>, Audio Research, Conrad-Johnson) to speakers (Al&#243;n, ProAc) to cables (MIT).

The most exciting development in audio today isn't multichannel surround, single-ended triodes, or $10,000 phono cartridges. It's "trickle down." I get buzzed when an audio designer known for cutting-edge multikilobuck designs claims to have a product that can produce 80% of the sonic realism of his flagship design at 50% of the cost. I get even more excited when he does it again&mdash;that is, produces a product that produces 64% of his flagship's performance at 25% of the cost. Designers who have successfully trickled-down their flagship technologies abound in all quarters of audiophilia, from electronics (<I>eg</I>, Audio Research, Conrad-Johnson) to speakers (Al&#243;n, ProAc) to cables (MIT).

The most exciting development in audio today isn't multichannel surround, single-ended triodes, or $10,000 phono cartridges. It's "trickle down." I get buzzed when an audio designer known for cutting-edge multikilobuck designs claims to have a product that can produce 80% of the sonic realism of his flagship design at 50% of the cost. I get even more excited when he does it again&mdash;that is, produces a product that produces 64% of his flagship's performance at 25% of the cost. Designers who have successfully trickled-down their flagship technologies abound in all quarters of audiophilia, from electronics (<I>eg</I>, Audio Research, Conrad-Johnson) to speakers (Al&#243;n, ProAc) to cables (MIT).

Thousands upon thousands of new discs are released each year, yet only a select few made it to the top of the heap for <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//records2die4/496/">Records to Die For, 2001</A>, number 11 of the annual rite of passage for the <I>Stereophile</I> staff. Find out what music made the cut and why.