LATEST ADDITIONS

Drum roll, please: As promised, the DVD-Audio 1.0 specification has been finalized by the DVD-Audio Working Group 4 of the DVD Forum, and will shortly be presented to the Steering Committee for final approval. A multitude of delays both technical and political popped up over the last two years, stalling the evolving specification until just recently. (It was orginally intended to be released months ago.) Still to be settled, however, is how DVD-Audio 1.0 will co-exist with Sony's and Philips' promise to promote their rival technology, Super Audio CD (SACD), as an independent and competing format.

CD audio recorders are becoming affordable and more available. <A HREF="http://www.philips.com/">Philips</A>&#039; CDR880 (reviewed by Wes Phillips in the current issue of <i>Stereophile</i>) will be in dealers' showrooms soon at a suggested retail price of $649. <A HREF="http://pioneerelectronics.com/">Pioneer</A&gt; will also have an inexpensive recorder on the market---the PD-R555RW, which will reportedly sell for $599. These two---and others that will no doubt follow---are welcome relief from the four-figure machines that have dominated the recordable audio CD niche.

The Model R107 represents the flagship of KEF's Reference Series, and is second only to the Professional Series KM-1 in KEF's product line. Anatomically, the 107 resembles a person. Beneath a decorative "hat," there's a special head assembly akin to the head on the old Model R105. This head assembly contains the brains of the 107, namely a T33 ferrofluid-cooled tweeter and an improved version of the classic B110 midrange driver, featuring a better voice-coil and a new polypropylene cone. The nerve center is also here, in the form of two passive dividing networks and load-impedance equalizing network. Level equalization of the drivers is performed actively within the KUBE, the second brain of the 107&mdash;about which you'll hear more shortly.

Following the highly successful release of three Beatles outtakes sets a few years back, <A HREF="http://www.capitolrecords.com/">Capitol Records</A> announced last week that another set of unreleased recordings, this time from former Beatle John Lennon, will hit stores November 3. The four-disc set will include over 100 home recordings, studio outtakes, and other works never released in public. Titled <I>The John Lennon Anthology</I>, the set was put together with help from Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and their son Sean Lennon. Also included will be 60 pages of notes, including art, writings, and photos.

Hachette Filipacchi Magazines (HFM) announced last week that two of its titles, <I>Stereo Review</I> and <I>Video</I> magazines, would be merged to form a new magazine titled <I>Stereo Review's Sound & Vision</I>. According to the statement, the new title will be launched in February 1999, with the premiere issue to coincide with next year's Consumer Electronics Show.

In a recent bake-off, online retailer <A HREF="http://www.cdnow.com">CDnow</A&gt; was named top music banana by the New York consulting firm <A HREF="http://www.emarketer.com/">eMarketer</A&gt;. Although placing further down the list based on price alone, CDnow gained the highest overall score in an averaging of the rankings of six criteria. Rated on a scale of 1 to 5, these were: Selection, Price, Service, Usability, Presentation, and Features.

Distressed <A HREF="http://www.carver.com/">Carver Corporation</A> announced August 31 that founder Bob Carver has signed a letter of intent to return as chairman and CEO of the company he founded 20 years ago. The letter also spells out conditions for a possible merger of Carver and <A HREF="http://www.sunfire.com/">Sunfire Corporation</A> as early as 18 months from now. Sunfire, manufacturer of the highly regarded Sunfire power amplifiers, is Bob Carver's privately held company.