HiWire

Duran Duran – Greatest

Orbital – Orbital 2 (The Brown Album)

Beck – Midnight Vultures

Clapton

It's a good article. I've read the same kind of thing before, but SACD still works better for me than digital files. Different strokes for different folks.

Klipsch X7i. Porcelain like a toilet bowl.

It's a pretty bold claim. Hearing is believing, right?

I noticed that Acoustic Energy finally released a floorstander model in their Reference Series. My pair of 12-year-old Aegis Two speakers (made in Malaysia) sound pretty good for super-cheap $200 speakers – it makes me wonder what they've done since then. Online reviews of the Reference 1 and the rarer Reference 2 seem pretty positive... has anybody heard them?

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult – Death Threat

Bryan Ferry – Boys and Girls The Cardigans – Long Gone Before Daylight

Why re-invent the Grado? I kid, of course.

Moloko – Catalogue

The Cars – Heartbeat City

Livingston Taylor – Ink

Chick Corea – Return to Forever (SHM-CD)

Enjoy! I'm curious to hear if there are big differences between the Oppo's Red Book and DSD playback. I've been slowly, but steadily collecting HDCDs and SACDs for the last few years, so I'm hoping for some kind of sonic revelation when the 105 arrives. I'm really happy with the sound from my Arcam FMJ CD36, but it will be interesting to hear if a player 1/3 the price can match it with hi-rez recordings and newer technology. Worst case scenario – it will still be a great video player. Also, I wonder if hi-fi manufacturers have been able to extract 99.9% of what is possible from Red Book – i.e., is it close to becoming a dead end, marketing hyperbole aside. It seems that almost all the high-end CD players are upsampling designs, including mine. I was looking at the dCS and Wadia players for a kick last week and I wonder if SACD and hi-res digital files will be the final frontier. The new Wadia, Simaudio, and Meridian players are Red Book only, while Esoteric, dCS, EMM Labs, Luxman, Accuphase, etc. are still selling SACD players.

Zero History by William Gibson:

Very nice. I'm looking forward to listening impressions from the new modules.

Need for Speed: Underground – Various Artists

Thanks for the impressions, Larry. What we all need to know is: how does the M100 sound with the VAMP? It is completely logical that someone will run out and buy an iPhone 4S to complete the look.

I just started reading Modding the Music Hall CD25.2 CD Player from AudioXPress... sounds like a fun project.

Hilarious. And congrats on the new CD player, Steve. Do you intend to modify it further? I run a stock Arcam FMJ CD36 and I'm leery of the hyperbolic claims modders make.

Review from Sound + Vision Magazine: http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/review-v-moda-crossfade-m-100-headphone

My brother really liked the B&W P5 when he tried them – he's not an audiophile at all. He liked the sound, the style, and the comfort. The only thing that kept him from buying the P5 was Tyll's review on Inner Fidelity and the lack of isolation – he's mostly listening to them on the subway and at his desk at work. The Sennheiser Amperior didn't sound like his cup of tea. I heard the Shures briefly and I also found them lacking.