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CD prices have been a sore spot for many music lovers. Our own online">http://cgi.stereophile.com/cgi-bin/showvote.cgi?242">online polls indicate that Stereophile readers think CDs cost too much (most think they should be under $10), while Stereophile editor John Atkinson has pointed">http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/578/">pointed out that for smaller labels, the economics of CD production only work when the prices are kept higher.

Paul Bolin says that the Balanced">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/1103bat">Balanced Audio Technology VK-51SE line preamplifier "made a profound impression on me at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show." Once in his very own listening lair, did the BAT continue to impress? PB tells all.

With few exceptions, 2003 has been a slow year for specialty A/V retailers. In late November, both Ultimate Electronics and Tweeter Group reported disappointing figures for their third and fourth fiscal quarters, respectively. New York's Harvey Electronics, however, posted respectable gains given the stagnant economy.

It's bad enough that the consumer electronics giants and small fry compete with each other. Increasingly, they are finding they must defend themselves against an onslaught from the personal computer industry which is eating away at the market share of traditional CE vendors.

Is bigger better? Michael Fremer sets out to determine just that as he reviews the Pass">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/1103pass">Pass Labs XA160 monoblock power amplifier. As Fremer explains, "While the industry-feminizing tiny triode set has made a great deal of noise in the past few years (I can hear them hissing now), soft-walking, big-stick-carrying, mega-power amplifiers still circle the globe."

See update at end of article. iTunes continues to grow and Napster has been reborn, but these last few months have been a bumpy ride for MP3.comhttp://MP3.com">MP3.com;. The music site, known for its large online music library featuring unsigned independent artists, was purchased on December 14 by San Francisco-based CNEThttp://www.CNET.com">CNET;.

Consumer electronics stores have long carried computer gear, everything from laptops and desktop systems to software and accessories. Computer stores, led by Gateway Country stores, have slowly been moving in the other direction. Now it looks as if convergence in the retail realm is about to take another great leap forward.

The music goes round and round: An investment group led by former Universal Music chief Edgar Bronfman, Jr. is in the lead to acquire Warner Music Group (WMG) and Warner/Chappell Music Publishing from corporate parent Time Warner, according to reports issued the third week of November. Bronfman's group—a consortium of banks and venture capital firms—has offered $2.8 billion for Time Warner's musical properties, possibly forcing prior suitor EMI Group PLC to drop out of the bidding. On Thursday, November 20, EMI chairman Eric Nicoll told reporters that Time Warner had informed his company of "a possible proposal from another party as an alternative to our own firm offer."

Chip Stern finds the AH">http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/1103tjoeb">AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CD player to be a bargain in its modest price range. CS writes: "Consider the notion of an exceptionally musical, single-chassis CD player with a tubed output stage that evinces the kind of soundstaging depth, liquidity, timbral accuracy, high-frequency detail, and top-to-bottom smoothness for which, barely five years ago, consumers might have eagerly coughed up $3000 and more."

Grabbing a few big gulps can sometimes fill you up quickly, but it can also lead to a little indigestion. This proved to be the case for D&M">http://www.dm-holdings.com">D&M Holdings, which filed results for the first half of its fiscal year, ending September 30, 2003, and its financial forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004 with the Tokyo Stock Exchange.