LATEST ADDITIONS

In a move that it says is designed to position it for "continued growth and leadership in the consumer electronics field," the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) unveiled last week its new incarnation: the <A HREF="http://www.cemacity.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA). The announcement comes on the heels of a decision, made earlier this week by the Board of Governors of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), to allow separate incorporation for its sector associations.

The Andra, <I>Stereophile</I>'s 1997 Product of the Year, will soon be back. So will the Rosa, the Fontaine, the Isabel, and the Ivy Reference&mdash;in fact, the full line of <A HREF="http://www.egglestonworks.com/">EgglestonWorks</A&gt; loudspeakers will be shipping soon to dealers, now that the company has been rescued from extinction. EgglestonWorks had been in legal limbo for most of the year as creditors wrangled over its future.

FM stereo, introduced in 1961, was the last great leap ahead in commercial radio. That was 38 years ago, an eternity in technological time. Digital audio broadcasting (DAB) techniques are capable of overcoming many of the limitations of analog broadcasting, including multipath distortion. Such systems are already in place in Europe and Canada, so why not in the United States?

DVD-Audio has been getting a lot of press and comments from consumers lately&mdash;as in "Where <I>is</I> it?" As we reported back in August, the first players from <A HREF="http://www.panasonic.com">Panasonic</A&gt; were slated to appear last month (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10509/">previous story</A>). But, as with all things worth waiting for, better late than never.

Hard to believe it's been more than six years since NHT launched its flagship 3.3 loudspeaker (footnote 1). At the time, the floorstanding 3.3 was a revolutionary product for the company, whose product line until then had been aimed squarely at the customer who wanted good sound, but wanted it in a small, affordable package. While the 3.3 didn't change NHT's dedication to its roots, it did signal to audiophiles that the manufacturer could play ball with the big boys.

For the December issue, <I>Stereophile</I> will be running its "Product of the Year" results. But what would <I>you</I> nominate for best product of 1999?

While it's not exactly a stampede just yet, a small dust cloud is rising as several consumer-electronics manufacturers head toward the Internet to sell products. Last week, citing the need to "maintain the highest quality customer service in the new e-commerce era," <A HREF="http://www.denon.com/">Denon Electronics</A> joined the online sales herd. In an effort to keep track of e-commerce vendors, the company has announced that it will establish a separate authorization agreement for retailers handling Denon and/or Mission products on the Internet.