Single-ended triode (SET) amplifiers are typically paired with horn loudspeakers, for good reason: most SETs produce very low power, so to get acceptable loudness you need a highly sensitive speaker, which means horns. Similarly, horn owners are often advised that the best amplifier for their speakers is a SET. Certainly, the horn-SET combination can be magical, but, in my experience, SETs are not the only type of amplifier that can sound good with horns.
Ah me. Victoria's Secret underwear (sorry; <I>lingerie</I>) model Rebecca Romijn-Stamos' publicist politely declined my request for an interview with her. An interview with the model, not the publicist. But you already knew that, and you are (best Claude Rains voice) shocked—<I>shocked!</I>
The results of last week's "Vote" indicate that audiophiles do indeed read manuals
The escalating "anti-piracy" technology battle being fought by record labels has caught the attention and provoked the ire of consumers, who are finding their fair use rights quickly eroding away. But computer manufacturers are also feeling the effects of recent music-company attempts to restrict the activities of music fans, since many computers fail to play the altered discs.
Paul Wilbur Klipsch, legendary inventor and engineer from America's "golden age of audio," died May 5. The founder of <A HREF="http://www.klipsch.com">Klipsch Audio Technologies</A> was 98.
Otis Blackwell, the prolific songwriter who helped propel the careers of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, died Wednesday, May 9 in Nashville. The cause of death was an apparent heart attack, according to a spokesman for St. Thomas Hospital. Blackwell was 70.
<A HREF="http://www.cirrus.com">Cirrus Logic Inc.</A> has introduced two new high-performance analog-to-digital converters. The CS5361 and CS5351 are said to deliver professional sound quality for audio/video receivers (AVRs) and DVD recorders (DVD-Rs) at mainstream consumer prices. The new chips are OEM-priced at $4.95 and $3.95 respectively, in quantities of 10,000 or more.
John Atkinson heads across America's great plains toward Kansas to engineer a brand-new recording that he and Les Berkley document in <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//features/575/">A Mosaic of Music: <I>Stereophile</I>'s Clarinet Quintet CD</A>. For the new CD, JA returns again to Chad Kassem's audio Mecca, noting that "105 takes of the Mozart and 102 takes of the Brahms later, we had gotten everything down on tape in two days of intense music-making."