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Kal Rubinson gets in shape for some heavy lifting to review the B&W">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/600/">B&W Signature 800 loudspeaker. "The Signature 800 is part of B&W's Prestige line, which represents the best that B&W can do with present loudspeaker technology," reports Kal, who watched with anticipation as a team of four hefted the 275-pound beauties into place.

Michael Fremer heard that the Alesis">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/605/">Alesis MasterLink ML-9600 Hard Disk/CD-R Recorder "can sound better than all but the absolute top-drawer analog," and, of course, had to investigate. Mikey 'splains why audiophiles should take note of a machine generally used as a mastering tool by the recording industry.

Earlier this year, Kalman Rubinson spent some time with the Rotel">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/608/">Rotel RB 1080 power amplifier. "What could be easier to review than a power amplifier? No features or functions aside from inputs, outputs, and a power switch," remarks KR. But as Rubinson finds, it's the details that count.

John Atkinson has found himself swept away by the expensive speakers from Wilson Audio Specialties, so he set forth to put the company's new, modestly-priced Sophia">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/619/">Sophia loudspeaker to the test. JA writes, "The Sophia is all new, from its handcrafted enclosure to its custom-built drive-units."

Taking the measure of the Chord">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/624/">Chord Electronics DAC64 D/A processor, John Atkinson finds nice things can come in strange packages. "Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem." But, as JA discovers, not all solutions are identical.

Chip Stern heads this week's list with an evaluation of the NAD">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/633/">NAD C370 integrated amplifier from the January 2002 issue. With the units priced to sell, at $699, CS wants to know if the C370 can satisfy audiophiles as well as budget-conscious shoppers.

John Atkinson gets his hands on "the very strange-looking" MBL">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/643/">MBL 111B loudspeaker to determine how "upper-frequency drive-units resembling an array of orange segments" could possibly sound. As JA discovers, thinking different can sometimes be a plus.