Featuring Mytek's MQA-equipped Manhattan II D/A preamplifier-headphone amplifier on its cover, our new issue—132 pages of awesome—is jam-packed with good stuff. There are reviews of Ayre's QX-5 Twenty "digital hub," Kii's ground-breaking, DSP-optimized active speaker, amplifiers from Bel Canto and Octave, and preamplifiers from Shindo and Sutherland. Jim Austin interviews Pass Labs' onlie begetter, veteran engineer Nelson Pass. Robert Baird surveys audiophile-quality reissues of horror-film soundtracks. Mikey Fremer visits revitalized SME in the UK. And kicking it all off, Art Dudley condemns CD player manufacturers who neglect their customers in the long term.

1915. Marcel Duchamp's nude has already descended the staircase, Arnold Schoenberg's Three Orchestral Pieces, Op.16 have shattered tonality, and the old order is crumbling. It is in this context that 30-year old Alban Berg completes his Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op.6, which is now available as the San Francisco Symphony's first download-only release in resolutions up to 24/192.

The KSL ($1800, $2100 with phono section) is a one-box line controller/preamplifier, just 2.25" high, with a nominal voltage gain of 10dB, or 3x. Despite its moderate price, the KSL is distinguished by having balanced outputs (via industry-standard XLR connectors), as well as two balanced inputs. Conventional single-ended, unbalanced outputs are also available via a pair of gold-plated phono sockets. Two unbalanced inputs are provided, plus a third via the tape monitor switch.