Stereophile

The 2006 <I>Stereophile</I> Products of the Year have just been revealed in the December issue. What is <I>your</I> product of the year?

<B>Wes Phillips on the Sessions</B>
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One of the enduring myths of audiophilia is that of the recording as a true and honest picture of a musical event&mdash;a sonic "snapshot" that captures a unique moment of time the way a photograph captures the light of a day long since past.

The P-8 ($11,000) is the second of Simaudio's Moon Evolution series that has passed through my system, following on the heels of the Moon Evolution W-8 power amplifier, which I <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/306sim">reviewed in March 2006</A>. Fortunately, the P-8's arrival preceded the W-8's departure, so I was able to use them together as well as with other components.

<B>ONE FOR ALL: <I>The Lineup</I></B><BR>
Eric Alexander, tenor sax; Jim Rotondi, trumpet, flugelhorn; Steve Davis, trombone; David Hazeltine, piano, Fender Rhodes; John Webber, bass; Joe Farnsworth, drums<BR>
Sharp Nine CD 1037-2 (CD). 2006. Marc Edelman, prod.; Katherine Miller, eng. DDD. TT: 57:42<BR>
Performance <B>****&#189;</B><BR>
Sonics <B>****</B>

<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/1206cantus"><I>There Lies the Home</I></A>, the sixth CD of Minnesotan male-voice choir Cantus recorded by <I>Stereophile</I> editor John Atkinson, is released this week.

What is the best environment in which to demonstrate and enjoy high-quality audio gear? According to Richard Rives Bird, founder and president of <A HREF="http://www.rivesaudio.com">Rives Audio</A>, the answer is simple: an acoustically engineered room.

The 2007 edition of the <I>Stereophile Buyer's Guide</I> is now available! Absolutely bursting with technical specifications for more than 5000 audio components, the <I>Buyer's Guide</I> will help make your music sound better than ever. Honest.