News

On 26 June at 6pm, Kitsap AV in Silverdale, WA, will be hosting an event at which representatives from several manufacturers—Greg Topp from KLH, Dave Kakenmaster from GoldenEar, Stan Beil from Audioquest, Matt Silberstein from Market Share, and Jordan Gerber from Bob Carver Corporation—will be showing off new products new products.

One of the hot items audiophiles were able to score at last month's 2005 CES was a hybrid SACD that Ray Kimber was handing out. Labelled IsoMike Tests 2005A, the disc is beautifully packaged and sports dozens of recorded snippets of vocal music, string quartet, piano, marching band, orchestra, blank pistol, and a local janitor.

Thursday May 12, The Audio Salon (The Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave (Gallery F1), Santa Monica, CA 90404), 4:45pm–8:00pm, is hosting an evening with David and Daryl Wilson, to celebrate Wilson Audio Specialties' first 42 years. Dave and Daryl, beginning at 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 7:00pm, will give three 50-minute presentations in the art gallery area. As well as discussing the culture and history of Wilson, what has changed since those nascent days when Daryl sat on his father's lap and listened to the first prototype WAMM, they will demonstrate Wilson's new Alexx loudspeaker.

Physical sales of music plummetedhttp://www.ifpi.org/content/library/MUSIC-MARKET-DATA-2007.pdf">plummet…; at a rate that exceeded the sales growth of legal downloads in 2007, according to the IFPI. While global digital sales grew by 40% in 2007—representing about 10% of all music sold—IFPI figures suggest that CD sales in the US dropped by 19% (10.5% in the UK).

Stereophile readers tend to exhibit above-average interest in the art and science of reproducing music in the home. Those whose interest extends back up the recording chain and into the recording studio may want to take a look at the Prestige">http://www.studiosource.com/prestige">Prestige Studios of the World website, developed by an Internet company looking to show off its digital wares.

Hitting newsstands, mailboxes, and tablets today, the February Stereophile features its renowned "Records2Die4" feature, now in its 28th year! The magazine's editors and writers each recommend two recordings that they couldn't live without—the 46 albums reviewed this month would be the basis of a great audiophile music collection. Ayre's EX-8 "Integrated Hub" amplifier is featured on the cover and also reviewed in this issue are speakers from Revel and Audio Physic; amplifiers from Air Tight, CH Precision, and First Watt; and tonearms from Swedish Analog Technologies and Sorane. And don't miss Herb Reichert's account of his visit last fall to amplifier maven Nelson Pass.

Some products inspire unwavering loyalty among their owners: Gibson's "Les Paul" Guitars, for example, or Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Only a handful of audio manufacturers have been lucky enough for their products to attain this kind of cult status. McIntosh is perhaps premier among them. Individual products---Audio Research preamps, Marantz tuners, Linn turntables---also have deservedly loyal and sizable followings.