LATEST ADDITIONS

FireWire's prospects got a little hotter last week, as equipment manufacturers <A HREF="http://www.denon.com">Denon Electronics</A> and <A HREF="http://www.onkyous.com">Onkyo</A&gt; announced new license agreements with <A HREF="http://www.digitalharmony.com">Digital Harmony Technologies</A>. The companies say that they have selected Digital Harmony to add standards-based IEEE-1394 (aka FireWire or iLink) interfaces to their product lines, and both companies expect to release Digital Harmony-powered products in 2000, each certified for compatibility with a number of 1394-based products made by other Digital Harmony partners in the US and Europe.

In a move that is sure to enrage users of blank digital media, Canada's <A HREF="http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/">Copyright Board</A> has finalized plans to add a levy of 5.2 Canadian cents on CD-Rs and CD-RWs, 23.3 cents on audio cassettes over 40 minutes in length, and 60.8 cents on MiniDiscs and recordable audio CDs. In a market in which blank CD-Rs used for computer backup typically cost less than C$1 each, this represents an increase of at least 5% per disc. Interestingly, DAT tapes are excluded from the tax, as they are not seen as a threat to the music business.

Do high-end cables make an audible difference? Or are they cosmetic enhancements, like fancy wheels on high-performance cars? The <A HREF="http//:www.nytimes.com/"><I>New York Times</I></A>, the nation's foremost newspaper, took up the issue in a December 23 piece in "Circuits," its weekly technology section.

In last week's Soapbox, reader Norman Tracy suggested that audiophiles not wait for DVD-Audio, but instead support the 24/96 DAD format, whose discs can be played on current DVD-Video players. Do you agree? Have you bought any DADs?

We've all heard of the entrepreneur who liked a product so much that he bought the company. Such bold steps are sometimes wildly successful. Case in point: Mark Levinson and his high-end startup, <A HREF="http://www.redrosemusic.com/">Red Rose Music</A>.

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.