Premiere Design

When you think about the components of any audio system, things like speakers, power amps, and source devices undoubtedly come to mind. You might even consider the room as a component. But what about the seat in which you sit to enjoy the music? Most chairs are not designed specifically for that particular endeavor, leaving you with a pain in the neck and/or back after extended periods, and some actually interfere with perceiving the best possible sound. To overcome the limitations of this "forgotten component," a Swedish company called <A href="http://www.klutzdesign.com">Klutz Design</A> has developed the Ballerina Sweetspot, a prototype chair that is optimized for just one thing&#151;listening.

In this blog, I often focus on products that are at home in a home theater, but when a press release about the new <A href="http://www.perreaux.com/products/eloquence/250i_-_250w_stereo_integrated... &#233;loquence 250i</A> reached my inbox, I was intrigued. It claims to be the world's most powerful Class AB stereo integrated amp, so I had to investigate further.

Recently, I posted an <A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-tech/let_there_be_let/">entry in the Ultimate Tech blog</A> about a new type of tweeter called the Leading Edge Transducer (LET). In that article, I made some statements to which reader Noah Katz, a structural engineer and, presumably, an audiophile, took exception. At first, I was going to ignore him because he refused to engage in a dialog about it. But, being me, I couldn't resist digging deeper to uncover the truth. After all, one of my guiding principles as a technical journalist is to get the facts straight, and if I don't&#151;which, as a human, is inevitable once in a while&#151;I feel compelled to correct my mistakes.

<A href="http://www.naim-audio.com">Naim</A> is a name well known to audiophiles. This British high-end company makes virtually all types of audio products, from CD players and hard-disk servers to preamps, power amps, speakers, and everything in between (except cables). New to Naim's speaker lineup is the flagship Ovator S-600, which has taken three years to bring to market and features some innovative elements.