Martin Colloms argues persuasively in the January 1998 <I>Stereophile</I> that negative feedback is not the panacea that amplifier designers believe it to be. His experience of an amplifier (the Cary CAD-805C) and a preamplifier (the Conrad-Johnson ART) that use no negative feedback other than local degeneration, yet have sound quality better than he has previously experienced, convinces him that even when a design's closed-loop distortion appears to be acceptably low, the listener is still aware of an amplifier's very distorted open-loop behavior.

In the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10054/">first set</A> of prophecies, we foresaw the effects of DVD-Audio, high-end sales around the world, and tweak multidisc CD. For the second installment, we look into our crystal interconnects and foresee new audio data-distribution methods for the coming year.

<B>DELBERT McCLINTON: <I>One of the Fortunate Few</I></B><BR> Rising Tide RTD-53042 (CD). 1997. Gary Nicholson, Emory Gordy, Jr., Delbert McClinton, prods.; Russ Martin, Marc Frigo, engs. AAD? TT: 38:12<BR> Performance <B>****</B><BR> Sonics <B>****&#189;</B>

One of the differences between mass-market and high-end audio is in product model longevity. By this I don't mean that high-end products necessarily last longer&mdash;although I think they generally do&mdash;but that models remain in a manufacturer's product line longer, perhaps being refined in an evolutionary manner. This helps products retain their value, and, when new models are introduced, these involve more than a cosmetic upgrade and some additional bells'n'whistles.

One of the differences between mass-market and high-end audio is in product model longevity. By this I don't mean that high-end products necessarily last longer&mdash;although I think they generally do&mdash;but that models remain in a manufacturer's product line longer, perhaps being refined in an evolutionary manner. This helps products retain their value, and, when new models are introduced, these involve more than a cosmetic upgrade and some additional bells'n'whistles.

One of the differences between mass-market and high-end audio is in product model longevity. By this I don't mean that high-end products necessarily last longer&mdash;although I think they generally do&mdash;but that models remain in a manufacturer's product line longer, perhaps being refined in an evolutionary manner. This helps products retain their value, and, when new models are introduced, these involve more than a cosmetic upgrade and some additional bells'n'whistles.

One of the differences between mass-market and high-end audio is in product model longevity. By this I don't mean that high-end products necessarily last longer&mdash;although I think they generally do&mdash;but that models remain in a manufacturer's product line longer, perhaps being refined in an evolutionary manner. This helps products retain their value, and, when new models are introduced, these involve more than a cosmetic upgrade and some additional bells'n'whistles.

One of the differences between mass-market and high-end audio is in product model longevity. By this I don't mean that high-end products necessarily last longer&mdash;although I think they generally do&mdash;but that models remain in a manufacturer's product line longer, perhaps being refined in an evolutionary manner. This helps products retain their value, and, when new models are introduced, these involve more than a cosmetic upgrade and some additional bells'n'whistles.

One of the differences between mass-market and high-end audio is in product model longevity. By this I don't mean that high-end products necessarily last longer&mdash;although I think they generally do&mdash;but that models remain in a manufacturer's product line longer, perhaps being refined in an evolutionary manner. This helps products retain their value, and, when new models are introduced, these involve more than a cosmetic upgrade and some additional bells'n'whistles.

One of the differences between mass-market and high-end audio is in product model longevity. By this I don't mean that high-end products necessarily last longer&mdash;although I think they generally do&mdash;but that models remain in a manufacturer's product line longer, perhaps being refined in an evolutionary manner. This helps products retain their value, and, when new models are introduced, these involve more than a cosmetic upgrade and some additional bells'n'whistles.