Stereophile Staff

As Michael Fremer puts it, "In analog, it's the little things that count, and Rega's upgrade of the basic Planar 3 design to the Planar 25 can only be described as visibly 'small.' But the sonic improvements I heard during my first encounter with the $1275 arm/'table combo were audibly <I>big</I>." Fremer takes a close look at and listen to the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//analogsourcereviews/309/">Rega Planar 25 turntable</A> for <I>Stereophile</I> readers and attempts to reveal all of its secrets. Sam Tellig adds his two cents' worth.

February's the month when <I>Stereophile</I> publishes its coveted "Records To Die For" feature, wherein everybody working for the magazine gets to make like a music critic and add their two cents' worth about what gets them excited (musically speaking). R2D4 2001 is on newsstands right now, in the February issue of <I>Stereophile</I>; to commemorate its publication, we add the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//records2die4/308/">2000 "Records To Die For"</A> to the online archives.

Analog and digital audio technologies should complement rather than oppose each other. That's <A HREF="http://www.rotel.com/"&gt; Rotel</A>'s philosophy with its new RDV-1080 DVD-Audio player. Combining the best of Rotel's expertise in both realms, the RDV-1080 offers "stunning audio quality," according to Rotel general manager Michael Bartlett. "The RDV-1080 is Rotel's answer to those who have asked for a DVD-A player that focuses our Balanced Design engineering approach on the unique challenges of this exciting new format," Bartlett said. "Even though it handles the most advanced format today, DVD-A, the RDV-1080 is nonetheless a direct descendant of our world-class CD players." Bartlett says his company is "using everything we've learned to identify and solve problems unique to digital technologies."

Writer Chip Stern has regarded the form-over-function products from "lifestyle" companies, such as Bose and B&O, for years now with great amusement. But can audiophiles find a product that looks as good as it sounds? Stern calls the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/307/">Linn Classik CD receiver</A> a "sleek, unobtrusive, uncomplicated design that does double duty as a lifestyle system and&mdash;for those who don't want the hassle of separate components&mdash;a true high-end performer." Too good to be true? Stern expounds.

At massive gatherings like the Consumer Electronics Show, some truly newsworthy developments by small companies go unnoticed, overshadowed by splashy launches put on by bigger firms. One such is <A HREF="http://www.be.com/">Be, Inc</A>.'s "Home Audio Reference Platform" (BeIA HARP), an all-purpose computer audio system. HARP will let computers access and broadcast Internet-based audio and services, and will also let them play CDs, tapes, and LPs.

Kalman Rubinson didn't expect to complete a full review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/302/">Revel Ultima Studio loudspeaker</A>, planning instead to investigate only the company's F30 (<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/244/">also available</A> in the online archives). But after the Studios ended up spending several months in his home, there was only one honorable option available: 'fess up and submit his true feelings.

As almost all audiophiles have discovered, headphone cables just don't reach far enough. You want to lie on the sofa for a late night listen, but you find out the cable is about two feet short. You can rearrange your room, buy a cable extender&mdash;or go wireless. That's what <A HREF="http://www.gradolabs.com/">Grado</A&gt; is inviting you to do with the FreeSystems Grado Digital Headphone System.