Jon Iverson

The first epiphany I experienced in blind audio testing took place in the Dunfey San Mateo Hotel, in Northern California. We were stuffed into a largish, well-lit room in which dozens of listeners sat in chairs, and others stood around the back or sat on the floor. Up front were two large <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/506">B&W Matrix 801</A> speakers on tall stands spaced far apart, behind them, opaque curtains hid a small pile of audio equipment. John Atkinson and Will Hammond stood at stage left.

<B>JOHN PRINE: <I>Fair & Square</I></B><BR>
Oh Boy OBR-034 (CD). 2005. John Prine, prod.; Gary Paczosa, prod., eng.; Thomas<BR>
Johnson, Brandon Bell, asst. engs. AAD? TT: 62:16<BR>
Performance ****&#189;<BR>
Sonics ****&#189;

The last couple of years have been a bumpy ride for <A HREF="http://referencerecordings.com/">Reference Recordings</A>. The company's troubles began two years ago this week when it was <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11719/index.html">announced</A&gt; that it had been acquired by The Dorian Group after more than 25 years as an independent label dedicated to audiophile sonics.

Ibrahim Ferrer, one of the best-known practitioners of the Cuban vocal music known as <I>son</I>, died in Havana on August 6 of multiple organ failure. He had returned, ill, from a European tour several days previously, and then been hospitalized.

As the Senate Commerce Committee began hearings on issues related to <I>MGM v. Grokster</I> on July 28, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) president Gary Shapiro issued a masterfully constructed statement reminding the Committee of the stakes involved. Why masterful? Essentially, we are struck by the concision of the CEA argument and its gentle reminder that a significant American industry will be crucially affected by the final resolution of this issue&mdash;and not the one that first springs to mind, either.

Walking through the circus that was WCES '95 was like undergoing total neural-synaptic overload. I felt hard-pressed to just keep my head above water separating good sound from bad. Trying to piece together a coherent picture of the show, I jotted down the components in the best systems that I'd heard, and a few items popped up with astonishing regularity. One of these was Audio Research's single-chassis CD player, the CD-1.