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We kick off our anniversary collection with 40">http://www.stereophile.com//features/708/">40 Years of Stereophile: What Happened When. Editor John Atkinson recounts the complete history of Stereophile, starting in 1930 when J. Gordon Holt heard his first sound in North Carolina.

Promising technology, interesting programming, and good business plans may not be enough to keep satellite radio services XM">http://www.xmradio.com">XM Radio and Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Radio aloft. Both companies are struggling with massive financial problems as they scramble to gain subscribers.

At present, the recording industry is based on a variety of analog and PCM digital audio formats, putting proponents of Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD, which is based on the Direct Stream Digital, or DSD, format) in a tough place when it comes to creating pure DSD works for showing off the format. To date, labels have had a limited number of options for creating, mixing, and mastering pure DSD projects.

US lawmakers have honored their promise to address a languishing small-webcaster royalty bill that was put">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11468/">put on hold prior to the fall elections.

Earlier this month, an unambiguous and simple message went up on the Dunlavy Audio Labs web">http://www.dunlavyaudio.com/">web site: "As of November 7, 2002, Dunlavy Audio Labs, LLC has ceased operations." A phone call to the company confirms that it is indeed out of business, although Dunlavy president Keny Whitright did not return calls seeking comment.

Folk wisdom has it that fools lock the barn door after the horses have escaped. They also chase all over the countryside trying to catch them. The music business is doing some of both in legal action brought against file-sharing service Madsterhttp://www.madster.com">Madster;.

Growing pains aren't always unpleasant. In the case of Denver-based Ultimate">http://www.ultimateelectronics.com">Ultimate Electronics, they might be completely enjoyable.

John Atkinson and Arnis Balgalvis audition the Avalon">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/703/">Avalon Eclipse loudspeaker, whose quasi-anechoic TDS response prompted JA to exclaim, "Boy, that's flat!" But is flat where it's at? AB thought so: "The sound I heard was truly outstanding."

The latest figures for the music industry remain grim: Online sales of recorded music have dropped 20% through the first half of 2002 compared with the same period last year, losing ground faster than the overall US music market, which lost 7% during the same period, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). And the trend is accelerating. The latest numbers show online sales down 25% in the third quarter over last year.

The Recording">http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has gone on record opposing the Artistic">http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A11926">Artistic Freedom Act, introduced for consideration by the New York State Assembly on October 28 by Speaker Sheldon Silver. The bill would free artists from long-term contracts—now sometimes as long as 25 years—and would give them "free agency" status.