LATEST ADDITIONS

The trend of computers redefining the price/performance ratio for digital audio shows no signs of slowing down. A new PCI-slot soundcard has been released by <A HREF="http://www.digitalconnection.com">Digital Connection</A> that could help change preconceived notions about the level of sound quality achievable from a computer. The $295 DC Pro 24/96 enables a brand-new function for the PC, playback of DTS 5.1 music CDs, as well as support for 24-bit/96kHz playback and recording, currently available only on high-end soundcards such as the CardDeluxe from Digital Audio Labs and the RME DigiPro/8.

Waiting for the Holy Grail of DVD-Audio? Even with players still distant on the horizon, one can now begin building a DVD-Audio music library with discs compatible with current DVD-Video players. At least that's the strategy offered at the recent High End 2000 show in Frankfurt, Germany this past week.

The <A HREF="http://www.napster.com/">Napster</A&gt; saga continues: Last week the Silicon Valley&ndash;based firm, which has been very successful with its MP3 file-sharing software, reinstated approximately 30,000 music fans who had signed online affidavits attesting that they had been mistakenly accused of appropriating songs by rock group Metallica. Those reinstated were slightly less than 10% of the 317,000 Napster users who had been booted from the system on May 3 as a result of legal attacks by Metallica.

Last year, <I>Stereophile</I>'s Barry Willis took a trip to Ogden, Utah, to <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10416/">report</A&gt; on what was then a secret speaker project being conducted by <A HREF="http://www.kimberkable.com/">Kimber Kable</A>'s Ray Kimber and designer Eric Alexander. After informal listening, Willis noted that, while not being able to completely nail down what the "under development" DiAural crossover circuitry was doing, something new was certainly in the air.

The <A HREF="http://www.sdmi.org/">Secure Digital Music Initiative</A>'s move to establish a copy-prevention technology for commercial recordings has rankled audio engineers, who claim that the audible watermarking technique chosen by the organization could mar high-resolution recordings. Of particular concern are SDMI's testing methods and its rush to get a standard in place without commentary from engineers or the music-buying public.

Will the European Union extend copyright protection to new digital media? That question was still unresolved Friday, May 26, after extended talks between ministers of the EU's 15 member nations failed to produce a coherent result. Meeting in Brussels, the ministers have been discussing how best to protect the interests of copyright holders while allowing consumers adequate leeway to use and reproduce legally purchased music, movies, video, and computer software.

When we received notice several days ago from <A HREF="http://www.panasonic.com">Panasonic</A&gt; that the company was finally releasing its DVD-Audio players next month, we filed the press release for a couple of days to see if it would last the week (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10620/">previous story</A>). Apparently, the products are still a go. Panasonic says it will offer a full line of DVD-Audio/Video models under both the Panasonic and Technics brand names, with the first units arriving in stores in July. As <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10509/">previously announced</A> back in August 1999, the Panasonic DVD-A7 will have a suggested retail price of $999.95, and the Technics DVD-A10 will have an SRP of $1199.95.