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A common question in the audio newsgroups these days is, "Have you tried the new PS Audio Power Plant, and what did you think?" <I>Stereophile</I>'s Robert Deutsch takes a seasoned look at the new product in his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//accessoryreviews/181/">PS Audio P300 Power Plant</A>. Does it live up to all of the hype, and is it true that the P300 is "audaciously original in concept, yet makes so much sense that you wonder why no one ever thought of it before?" Mr. Deutsch explains.

We're still waiting to see even <I>one</I> official US release of DVD-Audio software, but reports are trickling in that the recording industry is nonetheless planning for the multichannel high-resolution audio landscape. The latest bit of news comes from mastering facility <A HREF="http://www.futurediscsystems.com">Future Disc Systems</A>, which announced last week that it is now mastering DVD-Audio projects, and will soon be ready for high-resolution surround sound.

The <A HREF="http://www.ce.org/">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) is reporting that factory-to-dealer sales of audio equipment posted strong gains in October, rising by 8% over last October's sales figures and eclipsing the $1 billion mark for the first time since 1995. The CEA says that growth occurred in all segments of the audio market except portable audio, sales of which remained consistent with last year's levels.

Although advertising copywriters would have us believe otherwise, there is not a lot of true innovation in audio. Most audio products are based on well-established principles, perhaps refined in detail and execution. Of course, some products <I>do</I> take novel approaches, but they tend to be too off-the-wall to be taken seriously, or simply don't do the job as well as more conventional products. What's really exciting is to encounter a product that is audaciously original in concept, yet makes so much sense that you wonder why no one even thought of it before (footnote 1).

Convergence is a widely used buzzword in today's consumer-electronics industry. However, other than using my PC's soundcard in the office to play back MP3-encoded music and plugging the Mac in my listening room into my reference system in order to experience <I>Riven</I> with the highest possible sound quality, I've kept a low profile in this area.

The February 2000 issue will present <I>Stereophile</I>'s latest "Records To Die For," in which the magazine's staff reveals what got them going in 1999. But what about your choice?

Phase One of the <A HREF="http://sdmi.org/">Secure Digital Music Initiative</A> (SDMI) will incorporate watermarking technology for DVD-Audio from <A HREF="http://www.verance.com/">Verance Corporation</A>. The agreement was announced at a meeting of the SDMI in Hawaii early in December. Verance Corp. was formed recently by the merger of ARIS Technologies Corporation and Solana Technology Development Corp. ARIS's technology was announced a few months ago as the SDMI's choice for watermarking.