LATEST ADDITIONS

<A HREF="http://www.soundsareactive.com/catalogue.php?album=sub2005">Soundsareac…;, an eclectic independent label specializing in "jazz/improv, experimental hip-hop, and electronic artists," is offering a subscription package for its 2005 release schedule. For $35 (US price; the international price is $50), the label will send monthly downloadable MP3 (192kbps) releases for the rest of 2005, four "physical" CDs, and a "tour" DVD titled <I>XN+</I>.

Forget SACD vs DVD-Audio or even DualDisc. DRM, or digital rights management, has become the biggest audio format issue this year, and will likely continue to be for the next several years. At stake is the future of all consumer interactions with, and uses of, copyrighted digital media.

Telarc's stunning hybrid multichannel SACD of Jennifer Higdon's <I>City Scape</I> and <I>Concerto for Orchestra</I> has received the 2005 OutMusic Award for Outstanding New Instrumental Recording. The disc has also received the 2005 Grammy for Best Engineered Classical Recording (well-deserved by Jack Renner) and 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Orchestral Performance (equally well-deserved by Higdon champion Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra).

<I>"Good career move."&mdash;Michael O'Donoghue on the death of Elvis Presley</I>

Back in 1964, Avery Fisher, founder and president of the Fisher Radio Corporation, wrote a short note for the 500-C Stereophonic FM Multiplex Receiver owner's manual. In that note he said, "a door has opened for you, and your family, on virtually unlimited years of musical enjoyment."

When I reviewed <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/404infinity">Infinity's Primus 150</A> loudspeaker in the April 2004 <I>Stereophile</I>, I was very impressed with its overall performance. To this day, I continue to be amazed at the level of realism this $198/pair loudspeaker can reproduce, and I've kept the review pair to serve as a benchmark for an entry-level audiophile speaker. When I'd completed that review, my first thought was: <I>Now&mdash;what can Infinity do within the affordable Primus series for more money?</I> So I requested a review sample of the Primus series' flagship, the three-way Primus 360 floorstanding speaker. After all, how could I resist listening to a speaker that claims 38Hz bass extension for only $658/pair?

On Monday, June 6, at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Steve Jobs revealed that Apple would switch from its IBM-sourced PowerPC chip to Intel's Pentium D processor beginning in the latter half of 2006. Industry analysts began dissecting this move several days before the announcement in a series of "will they/won't they" articles every bit as breathless as those announcing the splits between Ben Affleck and J-Lo or Brad and Jennifer.