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A "victory for consumers" may be a windfall for class-action attorneys and 41 states participating in a price-fixing">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10818/">price-fixing case against the music industry. Some schools and public libraries may also benefit.

Not all Washington lawmakers are on the Hollywood payroll. Some even risk offending Big Entertainment by upholding their sworn duty to protect their constituents' interests. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) is such a legislator.

If you peer back into audio history, you'll discover that long-term formats are generally established at the mass-market level and then perfected or re-invented by those with audiophile inclinations. One could argue that SACD and DVD-A are attempts at turning that rule on its head. But the slow start exhibited by both formats (with the copy-restriction issue a new and rather large stumbling block) indicates that, once again, the mass market needs to get involved before we can really move forward.

The Monsters are Due on Maple Street: In the 1960 Twilight Zone episode with this title, inexplicable power outages and celestial lights cause the citizens of an idyllic American town to accuse one other of being aliens. Fear feeds suspicion, hysteria turns to mayhem, and soon lynch mobs roam the streets and former friends are burning down each other's homes.

Texas">http://www.ti.com">Texas Instruments has released a new chip that advances the performance of high-resolution digital audio while limiting consumers' ability to enjoy it.

Everybody's favorite writer (according to the latest Stereophile poll), Sam Tellig, reviews the Conrad-Johnson">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/673/">Conrad-Johnson MV60 power amplifier and explains "hanging beef." "For $2795, I loved the Conrad-Johnson MV60," says Tellig.

Following Apple">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11396/">Apple Computer's lead in bringing high-resolution audio to the computing environment, Creative">http://www.soundblaster.com">Creative Technology announced last week several audio products intended to facilitate DVD-Audio playback via personal computer. The company is also offering suggestions for making a PC quiet enough for use in a dedictated listening system.