Jim Austin

Tariffs are the dominant force in our industry right now, due partly to the added cost but also to the uncertainty they create. New products, especially those made in China, have been delayed because prices can't be set. Companies in Europe and elsewhere are waiting and seeing; some have implemented or are contemplating price increases; others have decided (for now) to keep prices the same.

Though similar in many respects, with a very similar appearance, these two products—the ZENith Next-Gen and the ZENith Mk.3—are very different beasts. There is one rather obvious difference: a CD slot on the Mk.3 (with, of course, a CD drive inside), which makes it easy to rip CDs to the server's internal memory. This feature is absent from the more purist ZENith Next-Gen. But with the Next-Gen you can have your cake and eat it: Attach any USB CD ripper to one of the USB ports, and it will work just the same as the built-in ripper on the Mk.3. The other differences between the Mk.3 and the Next-Gen are less obvious, but those differences go much deeper; see the Details section in this review.

"Just read your May 2005 As We See It for the first time in many years," John wrote. "Great stuff!"

Could 20 years really have passed since I wrote that piece? Back then, I was in a different career, indulging my hi-fi passion by contributing to Stereophile on the side; now I'm in my seventh year as Stereophile editor. Then I was still a youngish dude; now I am an oldish dude. "Time flies" just doesn't capture it.

Some readers will surely remember that long-ago editorial. It was about a product dubbed the Intelligent Chip, a small piece of—well, something—encased in plastic. I wrote, "This small, plastic-encased device is claimed to permanently improve the sound of CDs. Just place the chip atop your CD player, insert a CD, and press Play. 'The sound of the upgraded disc more closely resembles the sound of the original master recording.'"

In a Connecticut courtroom on Wednesday, Kristofer D'Agostino, son of late Krell owner and CEO Rondi D'Agostino, won control over his own trust, opening a path for Krell to begin to get its ducks in a row.

In addition to resetting that bit of conventional wisdom, Lund's study may have uncovered an important contributor to the feeling of envelopment so many audiophiles crave, itself a profound source of pleasure beyond the music itself. As I have often said, and probably written once or twice, listening to a good hi-fi system is like getting a massage.