LATEST ADDITIONS

Kal Rubinson gets right to the point: "I am biased: On very little evidence, I remain convinced that, in the near future, high-quality music reproduction will be multichannel." The <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/201/">Meridian Digital Theatre surround-sound music system</A> is therefore a product that puts Kal's vision to the test. Kal details the system, which consists of two DSP6000 front L/R speakers, one DSP6000C center-channel speaker, two DSP5000 speakers used for surround, the Reference 800 DVD/CD player, and the Reference 861 System Controller. But does the Meridian system live up to his expectations regarding the potential of surround-sound for music?

It would seem almost reasonable to imagine that your next stereo receiver or preamp could have an "intel inside" sticker on the front. Last week, software company <A HREF="http://www.be.com">Be</A&gt; made several announcements that it hopes will not only bring such a future to consumers, but also place itself at the center of the Internet-connected home-entertainment equipment market.

I am biased: On very little evidence, I remain convinced that, in the near future, high-quality music reproduction will be multichannel. While most multichannel demos are still egregiously and aggressively ping-pong, I have attended a few successful demonstrations of discrete multichannel reproduction that have impressed me so deeply that I hunger to have all the music I love transported to me (and me to it) in this way.

The inclusion of "hyperlinks" in music CDs that direct music lovers to Sony-affiliated online sales sites has angered the <A HREF="http://www.narm.com/">National Association of Recording Merchandisers</A>, a trade organization representing more than 1000 music retailers. NARM has filed suit against <A HREF="http://www.sonymusic.com/">Sony Music Entertainment</A> and Sony Coporation of America, seeking an injunction against the use of hyperlinks and charging that the practice of including the links in CDs is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Asking retailers to sell discs with such embedded links is the "equivalent of asking Tower Records to put posters for rival Musicland in their stores," said NARM president Pamela Horovitz.

Blaming a falloff in CD sales on the popularity of CD burners, <A HREF="http://www.bmg.de/">BMG Germany</A> recently issued approximately 100,000 copy-protected discs in an attempt to thwart the problem&mdash;and had to take a substantial portion of them back because consumers said the discs wouldn't perform in car players and in some home audio systems.

Visitors to the <A HREF="http://www.listen.com">Listen.com</A&gt; website will find a headline on the home page: "Your Guide to MP3 and More." MP3 recordings, while a big hit with young music fans, have not been a favorite of the music business. The key to Listen.com's financial future as a download site is likely whatever ends up falling under "and more."

Last week, the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> reported that sales of audio products during November constituted the largest monthly increase since August 1994. Total revenues for the month reached $901 million, representing a 16% increase over last year's figure. The CEA adds that November's sales brought total year-to-date sales to $7.5 billion&mdash;2% ahead of the same period last year.