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The creator of Koetsu phono cartridges passed away on Sunday, January 20, 2002, just a couple of months short of reaching the age of 95. A wake was held in Chiba, Japan on January 22; the funeral took place on the following day.

One by one, free music sites are disappearing. On January 19, Amsterdam-based KaZaAhttp://www.kazaa.nl">KaZaA; became the latest, caving in to threats of fines in excess of $40,000 per day.

In the crush of new products and technologies scrambling for attention at every Consumer Electronics Show, some intriguing announcements can get buried in the noise and require a closer look than is afforded by a quick listen and chat in a demo room. One such technology on display at the 2002 CES was MaGIChttp://www.gibsonmagic.com">MaGIC;, a new high-resolution audio connectivity standard.

Klein Technology Group and Adcomhttp://www.adcom.com">Adcom; have announced an agreement for the sale of Adcom's consumer electronics business to Klein, according to a press release issued January 8, during the Consumer Electronics Show. The effective date of the merger will be February 15.

Vivendi Universal's Universal">www.umusic.com">Universal Music Group will establish a settlement fund of approximately $4.75 million to pay royalties to as many as 300 artists and their heirs. The fund is the result of a lawsuit brought by torch singer Peggy Lee, who had accused the music giant of accounting improprieties reaching back as far as the 1940s.

Kalman Rubinson admits to having plenty of Sony trinkets, including clocks, VCRs, and TVs. But until the Sony">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/491/">Sony SCD-XA777ES multichannel SACD/CD player, he's always preferred other brands when it came to audio. Rubinson reveals whether this latest expression of SACD engineering from Sony has changed his perception of the company as a serious audiophile contender.

The last day at CES always feels like one of those half-days at school: you may be getting out only a couple of hours early, but everyone starts thinking about going home way before the bell rings. Nonetheless, the die-hard audiophile exhibitors were working up to the last minute and confirmed that show attendance increased steadily right up to the end.