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Several weeks back, the music industry's fear of MP3 audio technology came to a head with the release of Diamond Multimedia's Rio playback device. (See previoushttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10324/">previous; and relatedhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10389/">related; stories.) The Recording">http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America then announced a new plan, called the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI; see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10338/">previous article), in an effort to bring the music and audio-technology industries together to solve the problem of digital music piracy.

The final piece of the TGI/Mordaunt-Short/Epos jigsaw puzzle (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10343/">previous story) seems to have fallen into place, with the news that Mike Creek (of the UK's Creek Audio) is purchasing the Epos loudspeaker brand, effective March 1.

You think we've got format problems these days? Take a peek back to 1963, when J. Gordon Holt ripped apart the then-new record technology from RCA in "Down">http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/95/">"Down with Dynagroove". Next, Wes Phillips writes an ode to his own Mr. Holland in "A">http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/94/">"A Passion for Music".

The official websitehttp://www.grammy.com/">website; of the 41st Annual Grammy Awards was launched earlier this month with the help of a media team from the Atlanta division of International">http://www.ibm.com/">International Business Machines. The Java-based site provides background information on the artists and events of the music-awards extravaganza, taking place Wednesday evening, February 24, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Two elements that keep the audio business interesting are the new companies and technologies arriving almost every week (see also BW's storyhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10382/">story;). Some stick around for years, while others fade away between hi-fi shows. But amid the incessant change are a handful of characters who stay with it, continually evolving with the industry and reinventing themselves with each twist and turn.

In the classic textbook example, the Doppler effect is demonstrated by an increase in both pitch and volume (or amplitude) of a train's whistle as it approaches a station, followed by a decrease in pitch and volume as it moves away. This effect---the shift of a frequency emitted by a moving object---leads to a fundamental flaw in audio technology. A midrange driver behaves like the approaching-and-departing train when it attempts to reproduce varying frequencies. When the driver is fed simultaneous 400Hz and 2kHz tones, the forward movement of the cone at the lower rate modulates the 2kHz tone upward in pitch and amplitude; when it moves backward it modulates the higher tone downward. (The human eardrum also behaves this way, but the brain's audio-analysis circuitry knows how to deal with it.)

A study released earlier this month by The">http://www.arbitron.com">The Arbitron Company and Edison">http://www.edisonresearch.com">Edison Media Research shows that Internet radio broadcasting continues to be a fast-growing medium. The survey of Arbitron diarykeepers also brings to light both the challenges and opportunities that the Internet presents to radio broadcasters, particularly in the much-talked-about arena of e-commerce.

Rare violin dealer Geoffrey Fushi has devoted many of the past several years and a substantial portion of his liquid assets to producing The">http://www.beinfushi.com/miracle.html">The Miracle Makers, a reference book-and-recording project honoring the works of Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu, late 17th- and early 18th-century makers of the world's most sought-after violins. Fushi is also the founder of the Stradivari">http://www.stradivarisociety.com/index.html">Stradivari Society, a philanthropical organization of violin fanciers who loan their invaluable instruments to gifted students. Members believe that their treasures were intended to make music, not merely to gather dust in heavily guarded vaults.