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Jonathan Scull found himself in awe of the beautiful and ingenious construction lavished on the Boulder">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/505/">Boulder 1012 D/A preamplifier. "Its design and build qualities are icons to elegant engineering know-how. No screws show on the rectangular box . . .", J-10 enthuses. And as Scull finds, this D/A preamp combines both beauty and brains to create sheer audio pleasure.

Chip Stern writes in his review of the Blue">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/510/">Blue Circle BC3 Galatea line-level preamplifier, "From the moment I hooked these units up, the captivating turquoise glow of their matching front-panel lights (a glowing orb within a blue circle) held out the promise of something inviting and serene." Promise fulfilled? Stern spills the Blue Circle beans.

Jonathan Scull tackles the Pioneer">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/515/">Pioneer DV-AX10 SACD/DVD-A/CD player, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of one of the first "universal" disc machines. Scull carefully compares the DV-AX10 to stand-alone SACD, DVD-A, and CD players to assess whether, in fact, you can have it all in one tidy package.

Michael Fremer says he has heard many phono preamps in his career as vinyl's pre-eminent advocate, but a few do stand out. MF lived with the Conrad-Johnson">http://www.stereophile.com//analogsourcereviews/525/">Conrad-Johnson Premier 15 phono preamplifier for several months to see if it would be one of the medalists. Jonathan Scull also adds some thoughts on the Series 2 version.

John Atkinson gets high with the HeadRoom">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/530/">HeadRoom Supreme headphone amplifier and reports on the results. "The quest to make the headphone listening experience more equivalent to normal speaker listening is not new," writes JA. Has the Supreme made the cut?

"Even right out of the box, it's obvious that the Wadia">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/540/">Wadia Digital 861 CD player is something special," writes Brian Damkroger in this month's issue. "Its heft and finish are beyond the usual high-end standards." But how about the sound?

Back in November of 2000, Kalman Rubinson took on the McCormack">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/545/">McCormack DNA-225 power amplifier, following the rebirth of the company that he had so admired. "McCormack is still the guiding spirit behind these new models, which incorporate aspects of the original designs, much of the SMc upgrades, and some new wrinkles. I quickly put in my bid for a test sample of the DNA-225." His analysis awaits.