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In <I>Stereophile</I>'s "Recommended Components," most full-range Class A speakers&mdash;and even some in Class B&mdash;are behemoths. Some are tall, some are wide, some are deep, and some are just plain big. Most of us would find such no-compromise devices physically imposing and visually distracting in our listening rooms. Putting aside the infamous "Spousal Acceptance Factor," how can you ignore such speakers' presence and concentrate on the music?

Sony and Philips claim that a big advantage to SACD is that the high-resolution SACD discs can be back-compatible with regular CD players. DVD-Audio proponents say that DVD-Audio discs can be made back-compatible with CD players as well if consumers want it. Do you want it?

C<A HREF="http://www.cello-us.com/">ello Music and Film Systems</A> is not merely one of the world's most prestigious names in audio and video. This week, a plush restaurant is opening at the company's new headquarters at 53 East 77th Street (212 517-1200) on Manhattan&rsquo;s Upper East Side. Cello, as the bar/restaurant/garden is appropriately named, will serve dinner by invitation only until mid-June, when it will be opened to the public, according to Florence Fabricant in the May 19 edition of the <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/"><I>New York Times</I></A>.

In a tersely worded press release, Carver Corporation announced that on Wednesday, May 12, 1999 it filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 in United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Washington. The cause of the filing was "an accumulation of unpaid debt and resulting legal actions filed by creditors. These actions created the prospect of an inequitable distribution of payment to creditors and prevented the Company from being able to operate as a functioning business entity. In October of 1998, the Company ran out of working capital and laid off the remainder of its workforce. Subsequently, at the invitation of the Board of Directors, Robert W. Carver, the founder of the Company and former CEO, stepped in to take over."

Last week, the <A HREF="http://www.cemacity.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA) announced its forecast that Internet sales of traditional consumer technologies to online households should reach at least $14 billion by 2002, representing 13% of total industry volume. CEMA also revealed that <A HREF="http://www.eBrain.org">consumer research</A> shows interest in buying consumer technologies online should grow by at least 135% in the next two years. The study found that the vast majority of online shoppers opt to consummate the purchase online instead of at a retail store because of price.

One of the hang-ups preventing DVD-Audio from moving forward is the fear that high-quality digital signals make piracy too easy. As a result, the format will likely incorporate various copy-protection schemes---possibly including watermarking. Does this matter to you?

Plenty of noteworthy new audio products are making their debuts here at HI-FI '99. EveAnna Manley has unveiled her prototype DAC/preamp, the Wave, featuring an UltraAnalog-based 20-bit D/A converter and a tube line-stage. With four digital inputs, four analog inputs, a processor loop, and three variable outputs, the fully remote-controllable unit should appear at dealers in late summer at a suggested price of $7000. Manley says an optional 24/96 pop-in circuit board is in the works.