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Mark Levinson has traveled from Woodstock to the Whitney, and Michael Fremer lends an ear to his Red">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/350/">Red Rose Music R3 loudspeaker to determine if the journey was a fruitful one. As Fremer characterizes it, "If Levinson's Cello foray was haute monde, Red Rose is Dockers: loose-fitting and relaxed."

Many small classical record labels are facing an uncertain future in the wake of a decision by Tower">http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records to put three classical distributors on buying hold. News of the decision, and discussions about its ramifications, have circulated on the Internet after an internal memo was leaked on May 1. The memo from company headquarters ordered store buyers at all 113 Tower stores in the US not to purchase from Allegro, Harmonia Mundi, and Qualiton, until receiving further notice. The three distributors represent dozens of small independent jazz and classical recording labels.

It's been a roller coaster ride for satellite radio upstarts Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Radio and XM">http://www.xmradio.com">XM Radio this past week as both companies fortunes shifted yet again. In a classic billion-dollar consumer electronics gamble, Sirius and XM are betting that they can reach critical mass by selling enough specially equiped digital radio receivers through car manufacturers while simultaneously signing up enough subscribers to reach profitability.

Will audio dealers be interested in selling a product that's been available so far only via mail-order? Audio">http://www.audioadvisor.com">Audio Advisor thinks so, and has created a new distribution company, WS Distributing, to begin selling the Musical Fidelity product line through "qualified" high-end audio dealers in the USA beginning May 21. Musical Fidelity has been available through retailers in Europe and Asia for years, but in the US, only from AA's catalog and website sales.

Chip Stern provides us with a mini-review of the Sony">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/346/">Sony SCD-777ES . Find out why this SACD player prompted him to exclaim: "At $2500, the SCD-777ES is not merely a Class A component, it's a steal."

In suite 949, Nashville, TN-based Nearfield">http://www.nearfieldacoustics.com">Nearfield Acoustics debuted an unnamed new model in its PipeDreams series of tower loudspeakers, one that sounds very promising. To sell for an estimated $10,000/pair, the speaker boasts a 98dB sensitivity rating and improved coherence over its predecessors, the result of using a horn-loading technique for the tweeters, according to company principal Craig Oxford. The new cabinet design is rounded in the back, allowing a single piece of veneer to be wrapped around it, yielding a literally seamless look. There are big bucks awaiting whoever comes up with a suitable name for the product, Oxford mentioned. "Opium" was my suggestion. Hey, it works for perfume.