LATEST ADDITIONS

Hollywood Records, part of Walt Disney Co., announced that it will offer a new CD format it calls CDVU+ (CD view plus). In addition to traditional CD content, CDVU+ will offer lyrics, digital magazine articles, band photos, guitar lessons, and other features that will "build loyalty." Hollywood Records senior vice-president Ken Bunt said the company chose an enhanced CD format rather than a file-based format because "we really believe if you're going to give consumers what they want, we should do it in a way they're used to."

That harmonious accord between SoundExchange and the Digital Media Association (DiMA) on webcasting that we <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/news/071607internet/">reported</A&gt; last week? Apparently not so harmonious&mdash;and possibly not even an accord.

There's something a bit oddball about the notion of a $16,500 integrated amplifier&mdash;until you stop to consider that the market is fairly drenched with preamps and power amps that, together, cost that much and more. And putting both pre- and power amp in a single chassis cuts down on storage (one less shelf), accessories (one less pair of cable), and electrical outlets (one socket freed up).

At $2295, the CD31 is the most expensive integrated CD player from Swedish manufacturer Primare, and an evolution of their D30.2, which I <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/604primare">reviewed</A&gt; in the June 2004 <I>Stereophile</I>. I knew that the CD31 wasn't a clean-sheet design, but my first look suggested that it wasn't even much of an evolution&mdash;a comparison of its and the D30.2's spec sheets matched almost line for line. When I asked Terry Medalen of Sumiko, Primare's US distributor, about the similarity, and if the CD31 was just a mild tweaking of the D30.2, he said, "Well, yes and no. You really need to listen to it."

Every two or three years my family and I travel to Disney World in Orlando, Florida&mdash;one of those places I used to think I'd hate, but which I always enjoy in spite of myself. No such trip would be complete without visiting the Mitsukoshi department store at Epcot Center, which represents the pinnacle of Japanese consumer culture. At the Epcot Mitsukoshi store&mdash;the 430-year-old company's only US location&mdash;one can buy the finest of everything, including the rarest and most expensive writing papers and inks, the most exquisitely crafted pottery, and the loveliest freshwater pearls on Earth. Young shoppers are accommodated with the latest toys, trends, and technology&mdash;but there's nothing frantic or cheap about the manner in which they're offered. The watchword at Mitsukoshi is <I>quality</I>, and the presentation borders on being artistic.

<B><I>Unbreakable<br>
(A Retrospective 1990-2006)</I></B><br>
Elektra/Rhino

Now that we're perched upon the precipice of the <I>Simpson Movie</I> opening&mdash;at least a decade too late&mdash;I, by chance, I caught the Hullabalooza episode with the Smashing Pumpkins this week, the one where Homer becomes part of the "pageant of the transmundane," by being shot in the stomach with a cannonball.