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Editor's Note: This is Part Five of a six-part series from reader Hervé Delétraz of Switzerland, who is chronicling the development of his DIY (do-it-yourself) audio amplifier. Part One of the series is herehttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10825/">here;, Part Two is herehttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10832/">here;, Part Three is herehttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10839/">here;, and Part Four is here.http://www.stereophile.com/news/10844/">here.;

Choice is good, or so would go the common wisdom. But as John Atkinson points out in "The">http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/270/">The Crazy You Get from So Much Choice," when applied to diapers and DVD-Audio, choice can quickly develop into a nightmare in which comsumers simply walk away from the shelves, unable to make a decision. Will DVD-Audio suffer such a fate?

We reported">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10339/">reported last year about the new direction that Bang">http://www.bang-olufsen.com/">Bang & Olufsen America has taken in distributing its products: the company has recently opened a series of branded BOA stores around the US. The strategy seems to have paid off. The company reports increased sales of more than 60% in the first quarter of its current fiscal year, and claims that individual shops reported an average sales increase of 20%.

Last week, the Consumer">http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) released numbers indicating that factory audio sales (as opposed to sales through to consumers) for the first six months of 2000 have surpassed all previous mid-year dollar sales. The CEA adds that the $3.85 billion in sales to dealers put audio sales 12% ahead of the same time last year.

Michael Fremer writes, "I've never heard a pair of the Italian Sonus Faber speakers I didn't like. What I've never liked was the US price: too high. And then you have to put them on costly stands." In his review of the floorstanding Sonus">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/269/">Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano loudspeaker, Fremer grapples with the price/performance ratio of this $3500/pair speaker and answers the important audiophile question: Enough magic for the money?

With new audio formats such as SACD and DVD-Audio hitting the market, audiophiles will soon have more choices than ever for playing back music. But along with all of these options comes the hard part: choosing which path to take and hoping not to be dead-ended, as Beta video owners were years back. For consumers, the promised universal audio players (expected to play DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD, and SACD) will reduce the risk significantly.

Venture capital group Shared Ventures is now the legal owner of the assets of Wadia">http://www.wadia.com/">Wadia Digital Corporation. Wadia's majority shareholder, Shared Ventures, acquired the company's name, intellectual property, and physical inventory at a public auction in Minneapolis on September 12. The law firm of Siegel, Brill, Greupner, Duffy, and Foster, P/A, of Minneapolis, managed the auction. Originally scheduled for late August, the auction was postponed for two weeks after a flurry of interest following the publication of an official notice in the Minneapolis">http://www.startribune.com/">Minneapolis Star-Tribune.