<B>RANDY NEWMAN <I>Harps and Angels</I></B><BR>
Nonesuch 075597998931 (CD). 2008. Mitchell Froom, Lenny Waronker, prods.; David Boucher, eng. ADD. TT: 34:54<BR>
Performance <B>*****</B><BR>
Sonics <B>****</B>
<B>RANDY NEWMAN <I>Harps and Angels</I></B><BR>
Nonesuch 075597998931 (CD). 2008. Mitchell Froom, Lenny Waronker, prods.; David Boucher, eng. ADD. TT: 34:54<BR>
Performance <B>*****</B><BR>
Sonics <B>****</B>
One day in the early 1960s, Arnold Gingrich, <I>Esquire</I> magazine's founder and editor-in-chief, phoned his stockbroker with an unusual request: Gingrich needed a cashier's check for $12,000 right away. Would the broker please sell some of Gingrich's stocks?
We recently posted all of our coverage of two classic turntables: The <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/184rega/">Rega P3</a> and the <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/284sotastar/">Sota Sapphire</a>. And when I say "classic," I don't mean old. I mean timeless, unforgettable, enduring. Take a look at our <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/historical/709/index.html">Hot 100 list</a> of all-time most important products, and you'll see that the British Rega ranks at number 30, while the all-American Sota stands proud at number 54. Our reviews of these turntables date back to 1984, and provide information that is still very much useful and interesting today.
Reader Mike Molinaro asks: "Although not 'Audiophile Approved' or PC, what is your favorite greatest hits compilation?"
We get suggestions all the time for products you'd like us to cover, but is there a particular product that <I>Stereophile</I> should <I>not</I> review?
Well, I cannot say that I saw everything at the 2008 CEDIA Expo, nor can I say that my dreams came true. However, my major expectation for this show was to see that the major high-end manufacturers had bitten the bullet for HDMI and HD audio. I am happy to say, almost all have: some with products ready to ship; some with availabilities before the end of the year; and some with prototypes and promises for the 2009 CES in January. To list and illustrate them all would take more energy than I can conjure at this late day but here are a few.
Multichannel/surround is the default mode at CEDIA, of course, but there are interesting two-channel products to be found. Perhaps the most surprising was from McIntosh, released in celebration of the company's impending 60th Anniversary. Would you believe a mini-system from McIntosh? Well, it <I>looks</I> like a McIntosh but look at it. It consists of a two-channel preamp/amp (75wpc) with a prominent tube stage and characteristic McIntosh power transformer. Docked underneath is an SACD/CD player, and a pair of speakers complete the ensemble. Price is expected to be in the $6000–$8000 range.
While most of the speakers at CEDIA seem to be designed for concealment, from on-wall to in-wall and, even, <I>behind</I>-wall in the case of the Stealth Acoustics designs. The latter mount in the wall but with the expectation that the installer will plaster over them. As a result, no pix from me but you can imagine what they look like by viewing your own wall.
The SOTA Sapphire was the first, and the most successful in terms of sales, of the new generation of high-end American turntables. As such, the SOTA can be viewed as leading this country's resurge ence of interest in high-quality turntable production. At the time of the SOTA's introduction in 1981, it was the only high-end turntable manufactured in the US. Since then American-made turntables have appeared from the likes of AR, Mapleknoll, Sonographe, and VPI.