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<B>BUCKY PIZZARELLI: <I>Swing Live</I></B><BR> Bucky Pizzarelli, guitar; Allen Vach&#233;, clarinet; Peter Appleyard, vibes; Michael Moore, bass; Bernard Purdie, drums<BR>Chesky JD218 (CD), SACD223 (hybrid multichannel SACD), CHDVD222 (DVD-A, not reviewed). 2001. David Chesky, prod.; Barry Wolifson, Nicholas Prout, engs. DDD. TT: 60:00<BR> Performance <B>****</B><BR> CD Sonics <B>***?</B><BR> SACD Sonics ****?</B> (two-channel), <B>*****</B> (multichannel)

A clear majority of the readers who answered last week's poll think high prices have slowed down CD sales. So what price point feels right to you?

During copyright protection hearings in Washington the last week of February, South Carolina Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings labored mightily to please patrons Michael Eisner, CEO of Walt Disney Company, and Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA). Hollings' questioning of panelists from concerned industries was generally even-handed, according to several reports, except for his treatment of Intel executive vice president Leslie Vadasz, whose opposition to government-mandated copy control provoked an especially vindictive outpouring of vitriol from the 80-year-old Senator.

According to a recent report from <A HREF="http://www.arbitron.com">Arbitron</A&gt; and <A HREF="http://www.edisonresearch.com">Edison Media Research</A> (EMR), approximately nine million consumers who have ever listened to Internet audio said they would be willing to pay a small fee to listen to the one audio channel they listen to most online.

If you find yourself spending more time in a car seat than in your audio system's sweet spot each day, the trend pairing high-end audio companies with car manufacturers may offer a little relief. Lexus made a big splash last year by incorporating Mark Levinson technology into its latest cars, joining collaborations between Dynaudio and Volvo among others.

Perhaps even more than the typical living room, the automobile might be considered multichannel audio's natural environment.

The sales slump currently bedeviling the record industry has been blamed on everything from 9/11 to bad music to CD pirates and MP3 file-swapping. What do you think is going on?