Stereophile Staff

You think we've got format problems these days? Take a peek back to 1963, when J. Gordon Holt ripped apart the then-new record technology from RCA in "Down with Dynagroove". Next, Wes Phillips writes an ode to his own Mr. Holland in "A Passion for Music".

A study released earlier this month by The Arbitron Company and Edison Media Research shows that Internet radio broadcasting continues to be a fast-growing medium. The survey of Arbitron diarykeepers also brings to light both the challenges and opportunities that the Internet presents to radio broadcasters, particularly in the much-talked-about arena of e-commerce.

Because online music retailers like CDNow and Amazon.com have likely taken a bite out of record-club sales, last week Internet company America Online and direct music marketer Columbia House announced a marketing agreement for both online and offline advertising and promotions, including product bundling, direct-mail initiatives, and co-marketing and advertising campaigns. Under the multi-year agreement, Columbia House, with more than 13 million members, will promote its music, video, and DVD clubs on AOL's Shopping Channel, as well as on AOL.com, CompuServe, Digital City, and Entertainment Asylum.

Online readers rejoice: Stereophile is posting the first of what we hope will be many equipment reviews in our Archives database. First up is the Linn Sondek CD12 CD player (recently reviewed in Stereophile), along with a review of the Linn AV 51 System (from the February 1999 issue of Stereophile Guide to Home Theater).