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A Great Job

I can't look at any more Buyer's Guide spreadsheets. I'm done. For today. I'll start again on Tuesday. Luckily, our intern, Ariel Bitran, who was responsible for collecting and organizing the data found within the Guide, did an absolutely outstanding job. Which makes my job much easier.

The 2008 Buyer's Guide is sure to be the most complete and accurate edition yet.

Today was Ariel's last at Stereophile. For now. We hope to see him again soon. Let me tell you: I couldn't have imagined anyone fitting in around here better than Ariel. The kid's destined to…

NAD's Compact Music System

Small, one-box music systems get me all excited. Why? Maybe because I'm attracted to the promise of beautiful sound partnered to the simplicity of a single chassis. Maybe because I'm holding onto feelings from my boombox-filled childhood.

I don't know.

In any case, NAD's C715 looks interesting. It combines an AM/FM tuner, CD player, and 2 x 25W amp in one small (8.5" W) package.

The press release reads:

The C715 is ideal for centralizing and enjoying a sprawling music collection scattered among portable and shelf-top devices. Its compact…

Happy Labor Day

Flame on!

Anna Netrebko

Who can resist an article that begins like this? "The sniffles of a diva are like the tantrums of La Nina: a tropical depression in the Pacific is ready, by the time it gets to the North Atlantic, to produce lightning bolts, pelting hail and a deluge of biblical ferocity."

Disconnected Delta

Really want to protect New Orleans? Restore the Mississippi Deltaic Plain. The Army Corps of Engineers—those busy little khaki covered beavers—have much more than those sub-par levees to answer for.

CEDIA 2007 Coverage Coming Soon!

Stay tuned for live reports from Denver.

Pink Moan

Remember all that furor over research results indicating women's brains are hard-wired to prefer pink? Well, you needn't.

Dr. Ben Goldachre gives the data a right going over. I love this guy—and Bad Science is a weekly delight.

Blogging Update

Blogging on Stereophilia will be sporadic this week because of CEDIA—although the chaos kitties will make their Friday appearance as usual.

For more bloggy goodness, join Kal Rubinson and me for our CEDIA blog over at Stereophile.

Fred Hersch & Friends

Fred Hersch is playing six nights of piano duets at the Jazz Standard in New York City this week, pairing off with a different pianist each night, and Tuesday’s opening set was a marvel, further evidence that Hersch, not quite 52, is one of the two or three most harmonically imaginative jazz pianists on the scene and keeps carving new pathways—more intricate and probing, but no less swaying or lyrical.

His duo-partner last night was a former student of his, Ethan Iverson, 34, best known as the pianist in The Bad Plus but deserving acclaim as much, much more. I wrote recently about Iverson…

Edsel Turns 50

It's funny, but everybody knows the Edsel was a flop and a wretched car. Everybody that is, except people who own one. I've known four people who were proud Edsel owners and their cars were all great rides.

Besides, when you're behind the wheel, you don't have to look at it—coming and going it had two completely different personalities.