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I could tell something special was happening in my…

Description: Solid-state stereo power amplifier. Power rating: 300Wpc into 8 ohms, doubles with each halving of load impedance down to 1 ohm (24.8dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, +0.0dB, –0.1dB; 1Hz–150kHz, +0.0dB, –3dB. Distortion: <0.1% at 1kHz, <0.3% at 20kHz, full power. Slew rate: 100V/µs. Input sensitivity: 2.5V rms. Gain: 25.5dB. Damping factor: >120. S/N ratio: 110dB. Input impedance: 47k ohms. Power consumption, idle: 130W.
Dimensions: 19" W by 8.5" H by 24" D. Weight: 185 lbs (net).
Serial numbers of samples tested: 34-40334 &…

Following the 1/3-power, one-hour preconditioning test, the KSA-300S's heatsinks were hot, though not too hot to touch. Interestingly, though it was driving only 100W into 8 ohms during this test, the bias level 3 lights came on. This was somewhat surprising, since the owner's manual indicates approximately 75% rated power for this bias level (225W into 8 ohms). Checking the precise point at which the bias-level lights illuminated, I obtained approximately 100mW for level 1 (113mW left, 97mW right), 17W for level 2, 84W for level 3, and 253W for level 4. (There…

The ultimate goal of the hi-fi enthusiast is the enjoyment of pre-recorded music in the home. But, strange as it may seem, hi-fi hobbyists embroil themselves in endless debate over the finer points of this enjoyment: Do cables matter? Do all amplifiers sound the same? Are LPs better than CDs? There are hundreds more—just read any Internet forum on hi-fi any day of any week. With such a seemingly simple end—the enjoyment of music—why so much discord and disagreement over the means?

Right on!

Editor: Michael's October "As We See It" was and is beautiful and right on. Thank you!—Hal Marcus, Address withheld by request

Enjoy them for what they are

Editor: Michael Lavorgna's "Why Music Matters Most" editorial hit the nail on the head. Somehow, we audiophiles have to learn to enjoy the sounds our systems reproduce. It's "the art of recording" we are all listening to. I believe there is no harm in enjoying the recording, even if it falls short of the perfectly reproduced sound. I…

Editor: Michael Lavorgna's "As We See It" essay in October confuses apples and oranges. He suggests that, just as art lovers don't expect paintings of apples to taste like a MacIntosh, so music lovers should not expect recordings of concerts to sound like, er, the concerts recorded. Pardon?

His analogy is fallacious. I don't view a painting to see how an apple looks (or tastes), but for the artist's interpretation of "appleness." Accordingly, I expect a reproduction of that painting to appear as much like the original picture as possible; after all, reproduction…

Editor: Sorry but I could not disagree more with this column. While I do agree that all of this stuff is subjective, to merely state that this subjectivity abolishes all objectivity borders on the absurd. Hi-fi is merely the art of finding components that one "likes"? Why bother having reviews or magazines like Stereophile at all? In Lavorgna's opinion, it's all just a matter of taste anyways.

Hi-fi components are borne of science and technology, they are most definitely not works of art. A painting is an artist's interpretation of reality which often…

Oh, how the menacing have have mellowed. At 52, songwriter, playwright, fashionista, rehabbed junkie, and all-around scary-lookin' dude Nick Cave is submitting to mundane record-business drudgery. like a full day of interviews with Grinderman drummer Jim Sclavunos, in support of their new album, Grinderman 2.

An hour later than scheduled, as I'm being escorted into Cave's inner sanctum at the Soho House, in New York's still weirdly…

First, I tried the Meridian Sooloos system and loved it. But at that time the Sooloos didn't play nicely with sources other than ripped CDs. I then borrowed a Sonos WiFi Music System, which worked well enough for streaming…