LATEST ADDITIONS

The <A HREF="http://www.sdmi.org">Secure Digital Music Initiative</A> has decided to reconfirm San Diego&ndash;based <A HREF="http://www.verance.com">Verance Corporation</A>'s watermarking technology as its choice for inhibiting piracy in digitally recorded music. The May 21 announcement was made by the SDMI Plenary after a year-long campaign to evaluate the effectiveness and <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10870/">audibility</A&gt; of watermarks from 14 different vendors. The group has also apparently decided to halt further research and development efforts, which have been widely blamed for hobbling the rollout of DVD-Audio.

The L2 Reference sits at the top of Lamm Industries' preamplifier line. According to the manual, its "unique" circuitry uses specially selected, superlinear, high-voltage MOSFET transistors that ensure class-A operation from input to output, with no overall negative feedback at any stage. <I>All</I> stages, including the high-current output buffers, are single-ended.

Henry David Thoreau once wrote that "The eye is the first circle; the horizon it forms is the second." A profound observation, indeed: The horizon exists only in being perceived. Kind of like music, in fact.

"J-10, tweakoman," began the e-mail from one of Stereophile's Web mavens and a contributor to "Industry Update," the estimable Barry Willis, "hockey pucks are the cure for what ails you."

DAD has only been with us a short while, and the dawn is still breaking for new audio formats such as DVD-Audio and SACD, but we're wondering how many of you are early adopters.

<A HREF="http://www.cirrus.com"&gt; Cirrus Logic</A> has initiated cutbacks in its workforce and other cost-reduction moves that are expected to save as much as $12 million annually. The Austin, TX&ndash;based semiconductor company stated May 15 that the measures are part of a general restructuring of its business model, in which its magnetic storage chip business will be de-emphasized in favor of its semiconductor business. Cirrus is the parent company of Crystal Semiconductor, maker of many high-performance digital audio chips.

Mark Levinson has traveled from Woodstock to the Whitney, and Michael Fremer lends an ear to his <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/350/">Red Rose Music R3 loudspeaker</A> to determine if the journey was a fruitful one. As Fremer characterizes it, "If Levinson's Cello foray was <I>haute monde</I>, Red Rose is Dockers: loose-fitting and relaxed."