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Being in a pop band is easy, right? You just strum up some lightweight melodies, layer in some delicate harmonies, add a touch of minimal drumming, and Poof! It's "(Listen to the) Flower People." Yet another foofy guitar band singing about Luddites and lollipops.

Guys in real bands—you know, rock'n'roll, punk, or just rock bands—think of pop-band dudes as dreamers…

"I have no clue," he said. "I never listen to the radio."

What My nephew lives in Seattle because he's getting a doctorate in ethnomusicology at the University of Washington. I know he loves music—heck, he practically eats, breathes, and dreams music. "So how do you hear new music?"

"Mostly, I don't," Sean said. "My friends burn me…

Encased in an almost forbiddingly heavy, precision-milled box of black aluminum with edges that are almost sharp as razors, the CD555…

Description: CD player with outboard power supply. Formats supported: CD, CD-R, CD-RW. Analog output jacks: RCA, DIN. No digital outputs. Maximum output level: 2.0V RMS at 1kHz. Output impedance: 10 ohms. Frequency response: 10Hz–20kHz, +0.1dB/–0.5dB. Distortion & noise: <0.1%, 10Hz–18kHz, at full level.
Dimensions: 17" (432mm) W by 4.5" (114mm) H by 12" (314mm) D. Weight: 50 lbs (23kg), CD player; 17" (432mm) W by 3.6" (90mm) H by 12" (320mm) D. Weight: 31 lbs (14kg), power supply.
Serial Number Of Unit Reviewed: 236803.
Price: $28,150 total (…

Analog Sources: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn, Kuzma Reference XL, Metronome Gaia turntables; Continuum Audio Labs Cobra, Graham Phantom, Kuzma Airline tonearms; Lyra Titan (stereo & mono), Lyra Skala, Air Tight PC-1 cartridges.
Digital Sources: Musical Fidelity kW DM25 DAC & transport, BPT-modified Alesis Masterlink hard-disk recorder.
Preamplification: Manley Steelhead, ASR Basis Exclusive phono preamplifiers, Musical Fidelity kWP preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Musical Fidelity kW monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties…

I tested the Naim CD555 from its RCA jacks. The maximum output level was 2.04V RMS and the player preserved absolute polarity; ie, was non-inverting. The error correction was good, though not in the same league as the best players I have measured; the CD555 produced audible glitches when the gaps in the data spiral on the Pierre Verany test CD reached 1mm in length. The Naim ran very slight fast, with a positive frequency error of 286 parts per million (0.03%), though this is not enough to be audible as a pitch error.

The player's output impedance was very…

As recently as two weeks ago, I was moved close to tears by a lo-fi recording—Martin Newell's "I Will Haunt Your Room"—played over the standard-equipment CD player in my 2001 Subaru. As recently as five days ago, I was bored out of my underpants by the same song played through a $3500 CD player, a $6000 integrated amplifier, ca $2000 loudspeakers, and various tarted-up cables. The total cost exceeded the current used value of my car, whose ability to do more than just play music requires little in the way of discussion…

I've been hearing this put-down since I first became an advocate for digitally stored audio almost five years ago. At first, the argument was that computers had no place in a listening room. Wireless music servers took care of that argument. Then the big—and valid—concern was lossy-compressed formats, but ever-cheaper digital storage made uncompressed and losslessly compressed storage a slam dunk.

Well, said the still-unconverted, you can't argue that high-end DACs don't perform better than the cents-…

Of course, as a hardworking audiophile, being merely content wasn't on the agenda—at least not for long—so I compared the files I'd ripped to my Apple G5 PowerMac, played through my network and the Transporter, with the CDs I'd ripped…