There's virtue in being in the right place at the right time. The right place in this story was the headquarters of Acoustic Research in Boston, MA, and the right time was just a couple of weeks or so before the subject of this piece was to be shown (but not heard) at a press conference in New York. Even within that short two weeks, the rot started to set in. What I saw (and heard) in Boston on that occasion was a loudspeaker that stakes a reasonable claim on being revolutionary. A rare event that. The project name was The Magic Box and I was hoping that is what it might have been called when it went on sale. The Magic Box does, after all, conjure up an image of something a little special, and it's also easy to remember.

Imagine if you can a power amplifier with the bass richness, midrange liquidity, and high-end accuracy of the best tube amplifiers, and the inner detail, transient attack, and bass solidity and range of the best solid-state amplifiers. If you can imagine that, you can visualize what this amplifier sounds like.

Register to win an Allnic Speednic universal turntable speed verification system (MSRP $399) we are giving away.

According to the company:

"Its price of $399 reflects its luxurious fit and finish. You'd lust to own one for it's handsome looks but Speednic's record player speed verification at any frequency during play with it's highly visible indicator makes this tool's ownership a must."

[This sweepstakes is now closed.]

Thursday–Saturday, September 17–19: HiFi Buys (3157 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta) will celebrate the Grand Opening of their new Buckhead store. To kick things off, Thursday, September 17, 7–9pm: Michael Fremer of AnalogPlanet.com and Stereophile will be on hand to discuss all things analog...

Often copied, never equaled, Stereophile's 40-page "Recommended Components" listing is featured in our October issue, which will hit newsstands, mailboxes, iPads, and Android tablets this coming week...

A great, if not the greatest Krautrock engineer recording Duke Ellington in 1970 at Rhenus Studios in Cologne Germany?