Stereophile Staff

Lexington, KY&ndash;based <A HREF="www.thielaudio.com">Thiel Audio</A> has announced a new line of SmartSub subwoofers, "designed as the ultimate solution for bass management and reproduction in home theater and music sound systems." The line includes the SS1, SS2, SS3, and SS4 subwoofers, the SmartSub Integrator, and the PX02 and PX05 Passive Crossovers, a group of products said "to offer the most seamless and realistic low frequency reproduction possible." Company president Kathy Gornik describes the new line as "the world's first intelligent subwoofers."

<I>Stereophile</I>'s John Atkinson teams up with world-renowned recording engineer Tony Faulkner to create a landmark Mozart recording that has just been released simultaneously on hybrid SACD/CD, and LP. In <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/804k622">Project K622</A>, JA recounts the entire process, noting, "The upbeat is the most magic moment in classical music making."

Pay $350,000 for an amplifier?!?!! Michael Fremer takes a deep breath and plugs in the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/704wavac">Wavac SH-833 monoblock power amplifier</A> in order to hear for himself what he might get if he traded in his house. "When tmh's Jim Ricketts asked me if I wanted to review this eight-box assemblage," says MF, "the first thing I did was laugh at the ludicrousness of the situation. Then I said, 'Why the hell not?'"

Would a piece of Krell electronics be the crowning jewel on your equipment rack?

We begin with a January 1993 article from Robert Harley called <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/reference/193jitter">The Jitter Game</A>. RH explains, "Clock jitter is a serious and underestimated source of sonic degradation in digital audio. Only recently has jitter begun to get the attention it deserves, both by high-end designers and audio academics."

Brian Damkroger listens long and hard to the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/604primare">Primare D30.2 CD player</A> noting, "Primare is reluctant to provide much technical detail about their designs, preferring to let their products do the talking." So after a little chatting, BD files his report.

TrueSound Lounge: Headphone giant <A HREF="www.sennheiserusa.com">Sennheiser</A&gt; has opened an online music destination, the Sennheiser <A HREF="http://www.truesoundlounge.com">"TrueSound
Lounge</A>", providing web-surfers an entertaining selection of new music from
company-supported emerging artists like Sugarcult and Jody Whitesides. The site also provides "fun, quick-witted web-video shorts from top commercial filmmakers and producers, fruits of the Sennheiser Invitational Film Project," and "concise info on Sennheiser's unequalled selection of personal listening products," according to a recent announcement.