LATEST ADDITIONS

Recently, Sound Advice, Inc., a specialty retailer of high-end consumer electronics, announced plans to open five to six stores in Florida over the next 18 months. The company expects that two to three of the stores will be in operation by the end of this calendar year, with the balance to be opened in 1999. Sound Advice is also exploring other ideas, such as smaller-format specialty stores in upscale malls and other high-end retail locations that feature high-quality brand names.

On April 8, <A HREF="http://www.nordicdms.com/">Nordic Entertainment Worldwide</A> announced that it has adopted ARIS Technologies' MusiCode audio watermarking system. The Napa, California-based company operates the Downloadable Music Site, one of the Internet's most extensive music archives. MusiCode is an attempt to discourage piracy by embedding signals in recorded music, which can later be extracted for tracking the recording&#198;s origin.

On April 7, <A HREF="http://www.carver.com">Carver Corp.</A> announced an agreement in principle for the sale of 3 million shares of restricted Common Stock of the company to one of its preferred shareholders, Renwick Special Situations Fund, L.P., for $375,000, or $0.125 per share.

<B>BILL FRISELL: <I>Gone, Just Like A Train</I></B><BR> Bill Frisell, electric & acoustic guitars; Viktor Krauss, bass; Jim Keltner, drums, percussion<BR> Nonesuch 79479-2 (CD). 1998. Lee Townsend, prod.; Judy Clapp, eng. AAD. TT: 69:58<BR> Performance <B>*****</B><BR> Sonics *****</B>

At the recent <A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com">WinHEC '98</A>, <A HREF="http://www.nec.com">NEC Electronics Inc.</A> made available prototype sample units of 1394-to-POF (plastic optical fiber) repeater boxes that extend transmission of video, audio, and textual data over long distances via plastic optical fiber and copper media. NEC Electronics, one of the first companies to demonstrate this technology over plastic optical fiber and copper and wireless media, is also one of the first to demonstrate transmission speeds of 200Mbits/s over plastic optical fiber.

High-end journal <I>The Abso!ute Sound</I>, long rumored to be circling the drain, has been officially revived. According to a press release dated March 24, <I>TAS</I> will be operated under a new company, Absolute Multimedia, owned by Tom Martin, a vice-president at Dell Computer. Martin has reportedly arranged serious financing for the new venture, which will be based in Austin, Texas.

One of the keys to enjoying the tweak audio hobby is having a good place to learn about the art of sound. A good dealer can also help you make good choices for your personal needs when it's time to buy.