Sam Tellig

It's always good to tear into a good steak with Tor Sivertsen, Conrad-Johnson's main marketing man.

Toljus.

"Larry—if I'd told you 10 years ago that McIntosh would be heavily into tubes in the 21st century, what would you have said?"

You know the trouble with show reports? You read them after the show. So let me give you a brief report on Home Entertainment 2001 before the Show.

Sorry to empty your wallet this month, but here's a must-have if you want to get the most from your upsampling <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/276/">MSB Link DAC III</A>: Monarchy Audio's Digital Interface Processor 24/96 (DIP for short).

The year was 1948. As a six-year-old, I haunted record stores with my Uncle Stan. A quiet bank teller from Manchester, England, childless himself and quite overpowered by my Aunt Emily, Uncle Stan shared with me his love of music and movies.

It's been three years since the February 1997 issue, when I last talked with Klaus Heymann, founder and chairman of HHN, the parent company of the Naxos and Marco Polo labels. When I heard that he'd be in New York for a visit, I jumped at the chance for another interview.

At last&mdash;a CD player from a company that doesn't like CD.

"Heard anything great?"

"Musical Fidelity X-10D" it said on the box. No, this is not bathtub mildew remover or laundry detergent. Actually, it's hard to figure out exactly <I>what</I> it is. The box is little help. Musical Fidelity calls the X-10D "the missing link," a "pure Class A CD-player accessory."