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Harman International announced July 1 that it will close its Madrigal facility in Middletown, CT on August 30 as it continues to consolidate and reorganize its high-end brands under the <A HREF="http://www.harmanspecialtygroup.com/">Harman Specialty Group</A> banner. Although the name Madrigal was itself not used as a brand on audio products, it had been the umbrella under which Harman had produced and distributed its Mark Levinson, Revel, Audio Access, and (<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11612/">recently discontinued</A>) Proceed brands.

The science of recording music is, to apply a metaphor from a very different context, akin to "breaking a butterfly on a wheel" (footnote 1). The art of recording is to make it appear as though that pinned insect could still take wing. I have been devoted to both the science and the art of recording music since 1965, when I was given a Grundig &#188;" open-reel tape recorder as a birthday present. You could even say that my evolving interest in audio and my current position at the helm of <I>Stereophile</I> date back to my finding out how different a Shure SM57 dynamic cardioid microphone sounded from a Reslo Ribbon, even in mono, even at 3&#190;ips, when captured on that Grundig.

Radio and then television used to be formidable sources for exposure to new music, but the Internet has taken over for many people. How do <I>you</I> discover good music?

Last October, US Senate Commerce Committee chairman and former presidential hopeful John McCain hosted NBC's long-running comedy show <I>Saturday Night Live</I>. In a spoof of the political talk show <I>Hardball</I>, McCain did a devastating impression of US Attorney General John Ashcroft, a fellow Republican. Speaking of homeland security, the <I>faux</I> Ashcroft intoned, "This country won't be safe until every American is in jail."

Apple announced last week that music fans have downloaded over five million songs from its iTunes Music Store since its launch two months ago. In addition, the company reports that over 46% of the songs have been purchased as albums, and over 80% of the over 200,000 songs available on the online store have been purchased at least once.

There may be a digital network in your audio future. To help you run it, 17 consumer electronics and computer companies, including Fujitsu, Gateway, HP, Intel, IBM, Kenwood, Panasonic, Microsoft, NEC, Nokia, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Thomson recently announced the formation of the <A HREF="http://www.DHWG.org">Digital Home Working Group</A> (DHWG).

<B>PINK FLOYD: <I>Dark Side of the Moon</I></B><BR> Capitol CDP 582136 2 (CD/SACD), Capitol (LP). 1973/2003. Pink Floyd, prods.; Alan Parsons, eng.; James Guthrie, 5.1 remix. AAD/AAA. TT: 43:00<BR> Performance <B>****&#189;</B><BR> Sonics <B>*****</B> (SACD layers) <B>*** </B>(CD layer)