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Michael Fremer writes, "I've never heard a pair of the Italian Sonus Faber speakers I didn't like. What I've never liked was the US price: too high. And then you have to put them on costly stands." In his review of the floorstanding <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/269/">Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano loudspeaker</A>, Fremer grapples with the price/performance ratio of this $3500/pair speaker and answers the important audiophile question: Enough magic for the money?

E<I>ditor's Note: This is Part Four of a six-part series from reader Herv&#233; Del&#233;traz of Switzerland, who is chronicling the development of his DIY (do-it-yourself) audio amplifier. Part One is <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10825/">here</A&gt;, Part Two is <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10832/">here</A&gt;, and Part Three is <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10839/">here</A>.</I&gt;

With new audio formats such as SACD and DVD-Audio hitting the market, audiophiles will soon have more choices than ever for playing back music. But along with all of these options comes the hard part: choosing which path to take and hoping not to be dead-ended, as Beta video owners were years back. For consumers, the promised universal audio players (expected to play DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD, and SACD) will reduce the risk significantly.

You've probably seen the ad in <I>Stereophile</I>: a very personal account by Avantgarde-USA president Jim Smith, describing how, during a 30-year career in high-end audio, he had become increasingly disappointed with conventional loudspeakers' ability to communicate the emotional impact of live music, and how he found the answer with the Avantgarde horn loudspeakers. It's advertising copy in the best I-liked-it-so-much-I-bought-the-company tradition&mdash;with the exception that Smith did not actually buy Avantgarde Acoustic, but <I>did</I> become their North American distributor.

So far, the audio quality of downloadable music has been almost as good as AM radio. How far does it have to go before you'll want to pay for a download?

Audio manufacturers who know what's good for them avoid stepping on the toes of <A HREF="http://www.bose.com/">Bose, Inc.</A> The Framingham, Massachusetts&ndash;based corporation is renowned for it ruthless marketing and zealous protection of its patents.

E<I>ditor's Note: This is Part Three of a six-part series from reader Herv&#233; Del&#233;traz of Switzerland, who is chronicling the development of his DIY (do-it-yourself) audio amplifier. Part One is <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10825/">here</A&gt;, and Part Two is <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10832/">here</A>.</I&gt;