LATEST ADDITIONS

We've just posted something new for sale on <I>Stereophile</I>'s <A HREF="https://secure.stereophile.com/stereophile/record.html">Recordings</A&gt; page. But this is not just any new CD release&mdash;it's a comprehensive 10-CD boxed set of Robert Silverman performing the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas, recorded by our very own John Atkinson. Cheapskates rejoice: the complete 10-disc set retails for a very reasonable $65, bringing the price of each CD in the box to a mere $6.50.

After three years in limbo, Threshold will make an official return to the audio market at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show. The new company's initial emphasis will be on professional equipment with crossover appeal for audiophiles, according to Threshold's former national sales manager Chris English, a principal in the new venture. A name for the new company has yet to be decided.

Teresa Sterne, a pioneer in the production of classical music recordings and a visionary marketer of classical and ethnomusicological recordings, died December 10, 2000 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gerhrig's disease). She was 73.

Record 10 CDs worth of music in one weekend? John Atkinson writes: "I blanched. This was an enormous task: 32 sonatas; 103 individual movements; more than 11 hours of music&mdash;11 hours, 26 minutes, and 25 seconds, as it turned out." How to record Canadian pianist Robert Silverman performing <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//musicrecordings/298/">Ludwig van Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas</A> in such a short time? JA explains the revolutionary process in detail.

Many audiophiles&mdash;especially owners of Hales loudspeakers&mdash;have wondered whether or not the brand will be revived, in view of a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10918/">recent announcement</A> by Audio Video Research of Ann Arbor, Michigan that it has acquired the assets of Wadia Digital and plans to resume production and product development of the revered name. Wadia acquired Hales (two of whose products were still <I>Stereophile</I> "Recommended Components" as of October 2000) last year, just a few months before financial difficulties put Wadia into a nosedive from which it could not recover.

Last week's question about car systems prompted many readers to respond that their car is the only place where they can crank up an audio system. Are you restricted to quieter-than-ideal listening levels at home?

One of the industry's nastier legal disputes is over. Boulder, CO-based <A HREF="http://www.avalonacoustics.com/">Avalon Acoustics, Inc</A>. has withdrawn a threatened "trade dress infringement" lawsuit against competitor <A HREF="http://www.silverlineaudio.com/">Silverline Audio Technology, Inc</A>. of Concord, CA, according to an Avalon press release circulated December 7. "Trade dress infringement" is a legalism referring to a competitor's use of a design that has become so closely associated in the public mind with a particular brand that it amounts to a virtual trademark.