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Record producer and critic John Marks, whose writing has appeared from time to time in <I>Stereophile</I>&mdash;his March <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/208/">"As We See It"</A> triggered a deluge of letters&mdash;has started <I>John Marks Recommends</I>, a free e-mail newsletter on music and the arts. "Talking about my own work will be the exception rather than the rule," says Marks. "I tell people about great recordings, books, and videos, recipes, and an occasional wine recommendation."

For <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//finetunes/212/">"Fine Tunes" #16</A>, Jonathan Scull offers sage advice on handling the often ephemeral problem of microphonics in audio systems. "So here I am expounding on the tendency of audio components&mdash;especially tubes, capacitors, and resistors&mdash;to become microphonic, and you're wondering how you can find out if there's any of that shakin' goin' on in your system. And <I>you</I> want to do it easily and for next to nothing," he sez. The solutions await.

When <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/showvote.cgi?135">polled</A&gt; earlier this month, <I>Stereophile</I>'s online readers were split on the topic of DVD-Audio's surround capabilities: 30% expressed interest, but an equal number were not so thrilled with the idea. While the release of the official high-resolution DVD-A format is still several months away, some record labels have been quick to capitalize on the ability of current DVD players to play compressed AC3- and DTS-encoded audio DVDs, in the hopes of developing a market for a lower-fidelity surround-sound format.

The computer continues to insert itself into every aspect of daily life. Now it is a source for music from one's hometown&mdash;whether that town is across the state or across the ocean.

Time magazine has chosen Albert Einstein as the Person of the Century. As the great man said, everything's relative, so in this installment of "Fine Tunes" I'll cover a few relatively inexpensive tips for homeowners, or those building their own audiophile domiciles.

The courtship between two music-retailing giants is over. <A HREF="http://www.cdnow.com/">CDnow</A&gt; and <A HREF="http://www.columbiahouse.com/">Columbia House</A> have decided to call off a merger that had been in <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10496/">discussion</A&gt; since last summer. The official explanation from executives close to the deal was a sharp decline in Columbia House's profitability over the past several months.

On day two of Revel's early-March press junket, <I>Stereophile</I> and <I>Guide to Home Theater</I> writers and editors were treated to a discussion and demonstration of some superb audio and video equipment at Kevin Voecks' spacious home in the San Fernando Valley. Voecks spoke at length about the extensive research his company has done on the perceived realism of reproduced sound, under the leadership of Dr. Floyd Toole.