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While Thiel Audio is primarily known for highly refined floorstanding speakers, John Atkinson thought it might be a good idea to give the stand-mounted Thiel">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/243/">Thiel PCS loudspeaker a spin. In doing so, he confirmed, once again, that wire is not wire when it comes to speaker cables. But what of the speaker? JA's conclusions may surprise a few audiophiles.

Kalman Rubinson had tried to get his hands on the Revel">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/244/">Revel Performa F30 loudspeakers back in January 1999, but was thwarted until later in the year, when J-10 decided to send them his way. Kal was clearly excited about these speakers, and explains in detail exactly why.

Chip Stern notes that, "as often as not, it ain't the heat—it's the stupidity. When confronted by the smattering of self-referential dilettantes, acrimonious Internut wannabes, and obsessive-compulsive types who suck the air out of our aural fun-house, I find myself overcome with the desire to program my phaser for Clip." And fire away he does in "Snobs">http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/246/">Snobs, Slobs, & Marley's Ghost," added to the Archives this week.

Tempted to just cut'n'paste his earlier Arcam integrated amplifier review into his rundown of the Arcam">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/251/">Arcam FMJ CD23 CD player, Lonnie Brownell explains that, "after all, it's the same story: British manufacturer gives highly praised product a slick new case to entice those who find their Alpha line too downscale in appearance, adds a few internal tweaks to make it a bit more interesting, and kicks the price up by $400." Instead, he does the right thing in a complete review that even answers the vital question: Should this Arcam be your last CD player?

In his review of the Sharp">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/253/">Sharp SM-SX100 digital integrated amplifier, Michael Fremer asks: "why would a sharp mind offer a $15,000 integrated digital amplifier to a reviewer who has been characterized in the audio press as the 'self-proclaimed Analog Messiah' and a 'hyper-Luddite'?" Would Fremer actually cotton to a digitized vinyl recording? Read Fremer's report for the startling conclusion.

Audiophiles aren't taking to the streets just yet, but John Atkinson is more than a little riled about the proposed watermarking of SACD and DVD-Audio recordings. In this month's "As We See It," "Watermarking:">http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/257/">Watermarking: the Devil's Work!," JA exhorts the audiophile masses to rise up in protest.

Back in 1997, DVD-Audio was still miles away—and it may still be! But, as John Atkinson writes, "After a decade of stability, with slow but steady improvement in the quality of 16-bit/44.1kHz audio, the cry among audio engineers is now '24/96!'—meaning 24-bit data sampled at 96kHz. Not coincidentally, DVD offers audiophiles a medium with the potential for playing back music encoded at this new mastering standard." The dCS">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/259/">dCS Elgar D/A processor was one of the first consumer units able to decode 24/96, and still stands as a benchmark product. JA gives the details.