LATEST ADDITIONS

<I>Stereophile</I>'s traditional "Ask the Editors" session took place Saturday afternoon. A room packed with audiophiles hurled questions at the panel, who included (from left to right in Jonathan Scull’s photo): Ken Kessler, Michael Fremer, Bob Deutsch, Larry Greenhill, Wes Phillips (at rear), and Sam Tellig. (Not shown in photo but still very vocal were Bob Reina, Kal Rubinson, John Marks, and Art Dudley.) I dodged the bullet by moderating but I was <I>well</I> pleased by the insightful nature of the questions asked.

They were a hit at last year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, so I asked Bob Cordell (resting his dogs in the photo), Peter "PJay" Smith, and Darren Kuzma to give a repeat performance of their seminars on amplifier and loudspeaker performance at HE2007. These ran throughout the Show, and I kept being stopped in the corridor by audiophiles who would say something like "Now I know what tube amplifier clipping sounds like" or "Now I know what is meant by 'dynamic range.'" I was reminded by something I had been told years ago, perhaps by Jon Iverson: that the only difference between an audiophile and an ordinary person is that the audiophile had a mentor who showed them how to listen. Bob's, PJay's, and Darren's efforts will create many, many audiophiles.

Understanding the trad of Strad.

<I>Stereophile</I> hired good friend (and talented artist) <A HREF="http://www.jeffwong.com/">Jeff Wong</A> to cover HE2007 in his inimitable style. Jeff's three-page hand-drawn impression of the show will appear in the August issue.

When I finally made it through the crowd and into the Music Hall room, I took one look at pasty party animal, Leland Leard, and cried, "<i>Good god, man!</i> How are you feeling?"

Late Sunday afternoon, with only about an hour left before the show closed, it was still standing room only in the Music Hall room. Perhaps that had something to do with the choice of music. I walked in to be greeted by the naughty sounds of the Bear Family Records compilation, <i>Eat to the Beat: the dirtiest of them dirty blues</i>, featuring song titles I can't even mention here.

"Have you heard the little Ushers?" I was asked Friday. "Have you heard the little Ushers?" I was asked repeatedly on Saturday.

I encountered the same difficulty while talking with Red Wine Audio's Vinnie Rossi that I'd experienced the day before when chatting with Audio Advancements' <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/he2007/051207hart/">Hart Huschens</a>. Happy customers kept frigging interrupting us. "Vinnie! Vinnie!" they'd announce again and again.

The Audioengine team is also looking at alternative cabinet materials. On display was a prototype A5 housed in lovely, sustainable bamboo. While the electronics remain the same, the bamboo models will incorporate added dampening.