LATEST ADDITIONS

At last, a SACD machine from someone other than Sony! This time, it's a Marantz—the Reference Series SA-1, described as a no-compromise "ultimate-quality" player.

<B>CHARLES LLOYD: <I>The Water is Wide</I></B><BR> Charles Lloyd, tenor saxophone; Brad Mehldau, piano; John Abercrombie, guitar; Larry Grenadier, Derek Oleszkiewicz (one track), bass; Billy Higgins, drums<BR> ECM 1734 (CD). 2000. Manfred Eicher, prod.; Michael C. Ross, eng. AAD. TT: 68:29<BR> Performance <B>*****</B><BR> Sonics <B>*****</B>

Convergence. There, I've said it. I swore I wasn't going to use the "C" word, but when you're faced with writing about a product that smashes the boundaries between component categories as completely as the CardDeluxe does, you have little choice.

Audio Research's first 21st-century, audiophile-quality line-stage preamplifier combines retro-tech vacuum-tube amplification and power-supply circuitry with innovative, remote-controlled gain, balance, tape monitoring, and signal routing. The price is also 21st-century: $9995. As in ARC's Reference phono section, the Reference Two's pair of vertically mounted circuit boards results in a single, relatively tall chassis.

Assume that digital audio streaming will reach or exceed CD quality, and that you'll be able to hear anything you want to hear, any time of day or night. What would such a service be worth to you?

Last week, the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) released numbers indicating that factory audio sales (as opposed to sales through to consumers) for the first six months of 2000 have surpassed all previous mid-year dollar sales. The CEA adds that the $3.85 billion in sales to dealers put audio sales 12% ahead of the same time last year.

Michael Fremer writes, "I've never heard a pair of the Italian Sonus Faber speakers I didn't like. What I've never liked was the US price: too high. And then you have to put them on costly stands." In his review of the floorstanding <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/269/">Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano loudspeaker</A>, Fremer grapples with the price/performance ratio of this $3500/pair speaker and answers the important audiophile question: Enough magic for the money?