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Is bigger better? Michael Fremer sets out to determine just that as he reviews the Pass">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/1103pass">Pass Labs XA160 monoblock power amplifier. As Fremer explains, "While the industry-feminizing tiny triode set has made a great deal of noise in the past few years (I can hear them hissing now), soft-walking, big-stick-carrying, mega-power amplifiers still circle the globe."
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Paul Bolin says that the Balanced">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/1103bat">Balanced Audio Technology VK-51SE line preamplifier "made a profound impression on me at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show." Once in his very own listening lair, did the BAT continue to impress? PB tells all.
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Now that 2003 is almost a memory, it's time for The">http://www.stereophile.com/features/1203poty">The 2003 Products of the Year. Once again Stereophile's writers cast their votes on the year's audio worthies.
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The audiophile Rosetta Stone? From the December issue, Kalman Rubinson goes looking for the perfect all-purpose audio player as he reviews the Linn">http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/1203linn">Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal disc player. As KR notes, "Even more important than comprehensive compatibility will be any truly universal player's ability to optimally play back all of these formats without robbing Peter to pay Paul."
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Incorporating the company's new "black box" crossover design, the Acarian">http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/1203acarian">Acarian Alón Li'l Rascal Mk.II loudspeaker captured Robert J. Reina's attention. "I fired up the Li'l Rascals, wondering if I'd catch a glimpse of the dynamic performance I'd heard from the Exotica Grand References at HE2001," explains BJR.
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J. Gordon Holt and various other Stereophile writers are brought together to create the definitive review archive of the Audio">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/739/">Audio Research SP9 preamplifier. The SP9 review was controversial in its day, and the complete review archives include manufacturer and reader comments.
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As Paul Messenger states in his 2000 review of the Linn">http://www.stereophile.com/analogsourcereviews/200linn">Linn Arkiv B phono cartridge, "This Stereophile review is long overdue. Furthermore, this review addresses a complaint often directed against reviews and reviewers: that we rarely spend enough time with a component to gain a properly balanced, long-term perspective."
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There is practically nothing that has set high-end audio on its collective ear like the article Jonathan Scull wrote back in 1994 on room-tuning devices from Shun Mook. Not only did some readers dog-pile J-10, but two other Stereophile writers, Barry Willis and Sam Tellig, decided to take on the challenge. Required reading for anyone who wants to know more about The">http://www.stereophile.com//features/69/">The Shun Mook Affair.
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Our first article this week is Illusions">http://www.stereophile.com//features/78/">Illusions, Riddles, & Toys, in which Barry Willis explains what Zeno's paradox has to do with audio nirvana. "We audiofools face just such a riddle in our relentless pursuit of musical realism. I can hear you now: No, say it isn't so. Surely our technology is equal to the task. I'm sorry to tell you that it isn't, and probably never will be."
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Our first new archive article this week is "Building">http://www.stereophile.com//musicrecordings/82/">Building a Library: The Grateful Dead," in which past AES chairperson Elizabeth Cohen reveals her thoughts about what the band has meant to a musical generation. Also included is a complete Dead discography, lots of lyrics, and a little history.