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We're still waiting to see even one official US release of DVD-Audio software, but reports are trickling in that the recording industry is nonetheless planning for the multichannel high-resolution audio landscape. The latest bit of news comes from mastering facility Future">http://www.futurediscsystems.com">Future Disc Systems, which announced last week that it is now mastering DVD-Audio projects, and will soon be ready for high-resolution surround sound.

The Consumer">http://www.ce.org/">Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is reporting that factory-to-dealer sales of audio equipment posted strong gains in October, rising by 8% over last October's sales figures and eclipsing the $1 billion mark for the first time since 1995. The CEA says that growth occurred in all segments of the audio market except portable audio, sales of which remained consistent with last year's levels.

Last week, Cello">http://www.Cello.Net">Cello Technologies (formerly Cello Music & Film Systems) announced that it had acquired San Francisco Bay area custom installer and retailer The Audible Difference. According to a statement issued by Cello, The Audible Difference was founded in Palo Alto in 1976 and serves over 10,000 clients in the Silicon Valley area, and has 30 employees, "all focusing on audio design and home-systems design engineering, integration, and automation technologies."

Any FM-radio DJ who was on the air in the US through the late '70s and early '80s will tell you that the song most often requested was easily Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" popped up regularly, but it was never a contest. So it comes as no surprise that Zep's epic hit would make the list of the 10 songs included in the "Millennium Mix" being presented this month by Dick Clark. (Never mind that the millennium actually ends December 31, 2000.)

Loudspeaker manufacturer B&W has been extremely aggressive in the past two years in reining in abuses of its dealer agreements. Last year, the company cut off many dealers and stocking distributors in an attempt to tighten control over its distribution. Now, as a result of a program announced November 22 by KnowledgeLINK, many B&W dealers will be able to take sales online in complete compliance with their dealer agreements. Rotel dealers are also participating.

There's nothing like a new high-resolution format to get an audiophile's interest, and this year saw two major announcements. But with DVD-Audio stalling, attention is sure to focus on Sony and Philips' new SACD format. Jonathan Scull jumps right in with his review of the Sony">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/180/">Sony SCD-1 Super Audio CD/CD player. As J-10 notes: "Rarely have I anticipated the arrival of a review component as I did the Sony SCD-1 Super Audio CD player." But does it live up to the hype?

The band that built a cult following on good vibes is feeling a trifle dysfunctional of late. Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh is at odds with fellow bandmembers over how best to put the group’s 35-year musical archive on the Internet. Grateful">http://www.dead.net/">Grateful Dead Productions has been consulting about the prospect of making their vault available for computer download with several Silicon Valley companies, many of whose executives are Deadheads eager to affiliate themselves with the legendary rockers by sponsoring the venture.