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The Home Technology & Photography Group (HT&P) of Primedia and website BestStuff.comhttp://BestStuff.com">BestStuff.com; announced today the launch of Best, a shopping magazine focused on the products and experiences that enhance an upscale lifestyle. Best, which hits newsstands on Thursday, November 6 at a $3.99 cover price, is an "aspirational" magazine which offers features ranging from the selection and use of home theaters and high-end audio and video systems, to digital photography, computers, and video imaging products, as well as the finest in automobiles and ultimate travel suggestions.

From the May 2002 issue, Michael Fremer positions the Odeon">http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?951">Odeon La Traviata loudspeaker in his listening lair, writing, "Interest in super-efficient, horn-loaded, compression-driver loudspeakers has grown in the past few years." But as MF finds, horns may not always do the trick.

This month, Stereophile brings you the Internet's largest community of qualified audio and video buyers and sellers, powered by industry leader Audiogon. Visitors to Stereophile.com will find a new "AV">http://marketplace.stereophile.com">AV Marketplace" link that connects directly to the most robust venue for buying and selling used and new audio and video equipment on the Web. Services also include an online Bluebook for quick evaluation of used equipment prices, online used equipment forums, member product reviews, information on manufacturers, and a member feedback system.

Every autumn, the Consumer">http://www.CE.org">Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) publishes its "Five Technologies to Watch" list of "technology trends poised to shape the consumer electronics industry" in the year ahead. Most of the choices may seem obvious, but the final entry on the list this year may be a surprise for audiophiles.

Over the past year, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAAhttp://www.riaa.com">RIAA;) has made significant headway in its multi-front war against commercial piracy, according to a detailed report issued by the trade group October 21.

New York's ailing Bottom Line music club has attracted some heavyweight help. Rock icon Bruce Springsteen and Viacom president Mel Karmazin have joined a campaign begun by New York–based satellite radio service Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Radio to save the legendary venue.

From the October issue, Art Dudley mounts the Dynavector">http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?947">Dynavector DV10x5 MC phono cartridge (on his tonearm, that is) and spins a few records. AD explains, "This is the first entry-level Dynavector to incorporate the company's colorfully named flux damping and softened magnetism."

Manufacturers and retailers don't expect an upswing in electronics sales next year. That's the consensus of members polled by the Consumer">http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association, published in mid-October.

In other">http://www.stereophile.com/shownews.cgi?1758">other news this week, the music business is in a tailspin, and searching for ways to save itself. The National Association of Record Merchandisers (NARM) has just published its chairman's message, with several clues about what consumers may see from the industry in the coming months.

A drop-off in business these days seems to produce one inevitable consequence: a cutback in jobs.