LATEST ADDITIONS

In 1991, British loudspeaker manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.bwspeakers.com">B&W</A&gt; celebrated its 25th birthday with the introduction of the John Bowers Silver Signature loudspeaker (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/272/">review</A&gt;). Not the largest or most expensive speaker on the company chart, the John Bowers Silver Signature, named after the company's late founder, still prompted John Atkinson to write that its performance was the best he'd heard for its modest size in his listening room.

Chet Atkins, the good-natured guitarist and successful record producer who established Nashville as the capitol of country music, in the process of transforming the music itself, died on Saturday, June 30. He had battled cancer for several years. He was 77.

<B>TONY BENNETT/BILL EVANS: <I>The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album</I></B><BR><FONT SIZE="2">Tony Bennett, vocals; Bill Evans, piano<BR>JVC JVCXR-0208-2 (CD). 1975/2001. Helen Keane, prod.; Don Cody, eng.; Akira Taguchi, XRCD2 prod., Alan Yoshida, XRCD2 mastering eng. AAD?. TT: 35:09<BR>Performance <B>*****</B><BR>Sonics <B>****</B></FONT>

It's been three years since we last asked this question, and reader Jeffrey Michael suggests we ask it again: With all the different speaker technologies on the market, which technology have you adopted for your current audio system?

Attendees at the <A HREF="http://www.cedia.org/">Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association</A> Expo 2001 will be the first to see new Aragon products, parent company <A HREF="http://www.klipsch.com">Klipsch</A&gt; announced in late June. The Indianapolis-based audio manufacturer will unveil new Aragon/Klipsch home theater systems at the annual show held in its hometown the first week of September. The show's stature has grown to such an extent that many companies now choose to debut new products there rather than at the January Consumer Electronics Show.

Times are obviously tough for personal computer manufacturers, who, in the quest for new sources of revenue, are increasingly dipping their toes into consumer electronics waters. The latest firm to join IBM, Intel, and Compaq (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11066/">previous</A&gt;) in the rushing stream is <A HREF="http://www.hp.com">Hewlett-Packard</A&gt; which announced last week the expansion of the company's drive into the living room. HP says that its new initiative is intended to "blend interactive product innovations with easy-to-use services and offer consumers new ways to enjoy digital music, streaming video, and Internet information in the living room."

The fate of <A HREF="http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records</A> has been the subject of music industry speculation for months. The company's financial difficulties have been no secret; several stories recently appeared alluding to a new <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11041/">Tower policy</A> of making some suppliers share the burden&mdash;especially distributors of small specialty classical labels.