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Roger A. Modjeski's RAM Labs and Music Reference electronics now have a home on the Internet.

The music industry is reportedly preparing to open a new front in its war on piracy.

There may be thousands of audio manufacturers around the world, but there are only a handful of ways for them to sell their products. These include your traditional bricks-and-mortar dealer network (everything from small audio boutiques to mass-market chains), the online or mail order retailer, direct sales via the Web or catalog, or direct sales via a company store.

As almost any <I>Stereophile</I> reader could <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/showvote.cgi?105">tell you</A>, if the record labels want to stem the rushing tide of big-time music piracy, they should consider starting with lower CD prices at retail. In other words, lessen the incentives that drive the illicit music market, and eliminate a sizable percentage of the problem overnight.

Jonathan Scull gets intimate with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/614/">HeadRoom BlockHead headphone amplifier</A> stating, "I listen to headphones for <I>hours</I> at a stretch while writing my reviews. The equipment I listen to spoils me to death, and I need a headphone rig to match." Has J-10 found the ultimate headphone amp? We'll see.

We all know that how a product <I>sounds</I> is the ultimate audiophile criterion. But reader Pete Montgomery wonders how important build-quality and appearance are as well.

We've learned to pretty much ignore consumer electronics company announcements for their latest CD and DVD players/burners. The usual "breakthrough" turns out to be yet another faster record/playback speed bump, or a longer list of compatible formats (Panasonic's latest recorder, announced last week, can handle&mdash;take a deep breath&mdash;DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, and CD-ROM discs).