LATEST ADDITIONS

Many audiophiles love vacuum tube-based components for their warm analog sound. <A href="http://www.einstein-audio.de">Einstein Audio</A> of Germany understands this well, as demonstrated by the introduction of The Tube MKII 2-channel preamp at CES next month.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/d9.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>In the early 1980s, an alien spaceship hovers over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, and shows no signs of life. After waiting six months for contact, the government decides to cut into the vessel to see what's inside, and it finds the alien crew starving and malnourished. The local authorities set up a refugee camp for the aliens, and over the span of nearly 30 years, their numbers grow to over 1.8 million. Now what?

Turntables remain the source device of choice for many audiophiles who prize analog sound, but friction in the bearings makes it difficult to keep the platter spinning at a constant rate, which is critical for high-quality playback. One solution to this problem is suspending the platter on a cushion of air, an approach championed by <A href="http://www.bergmannaudio.com">Bergmann Audio</A> of Denmark in its new Sindre airbearing turntable, which debuts at CES next month.

We recently remodeled our master bedroom to accommodate a fairly high end home theater/audiophile AV system. Since we're as much into great music as great films, we designed the system to provide optimum playback for both. We spend most our time either viewing movies or listening to music, so the bedroom is now our main living area.