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EMI">http://www.emigroup.com">EMI Group PLC has gotten serious about surviving in a depressed market. In the wake of a disastrous multimillion-dollar payouthttp://www.stereophile.com/news/11265/">payout; to pop singer Mariah Carey, the UK music label has announced sweeping cutbacks in its workforce—including many American executives—and in its roster of artists.

"Even right out of the box, it's obvious that the Wadia">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/540/">Wadia Digital 861 CD player is something special," writes Brian Damkroger in this month's issue. "Its heft and finish are beyond the usual high-end standards." But how about the sound?

Both SACD and DVD-Audio have been slow finding their way into higher-end players. Sony dominates the market for SACD, and the other major consumer electronics manufacturers are trickling out DVD-A and universal players. The few exceptions include SACD machines from Classéhttp://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/474/">Classé; and Accuphasehttp://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/340/">Accuphase;. Soon to be added to the list: Linn.

Is it the low exhibitor rates? The excuse to visit Montreal, perhaps North America's most cosmopolitan city? The efficiency and charm of organizer Marie-Christine Prin and her assistants? Whatever the reason(s), Montreal's Festival Son & Image has become a real success story, attracting an ever-increasing array of exhibitors and audiophiles from far and wide. Last year, the Festival spilled over from the downtown Delta Hotel to the Four Points Sheraton across the street; this year, there were exhibits in the Holiday Inn next door as well.

If Senator "Fritz" Hollings has his way, coming generations of electronic products will monitor their users' behavior and report possible copyright violations to some governmental regulatory agency. That's one of the more ominous provisions in Hollings' Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA), introduced for consideration by the US Senate the third week of March. The bill goes far beyond the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, passed in 1998.

The affordable universal disc player may yet become a reality—if Royal">http://www.philips.com">Royal Philips Electronics has anything to do with it.

Michael Fremer gets a chorus of oohs and ahhs as he sets up the Hovland">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/535/">Hovland Sapphire power amplifier in his listening lair. While the Hovland is certainly a sweet-looking amp, MF rightly points out that "looks alone don't sell hi-fi equipment in the specialty audio market—especially when you're asking $7800 for a 40Wpc two-channel amplifier."

Chad Kassem is a true audio renaissance man. For years he has headed Acoustic">http://www.acousticsounds.com/">Acoustic Sounds, supplier of select recorded musical treasures from a variety of audiophile and specialty labels. Kassem also has his own label, Analogue Productions, which produces reissues, revivals, and a series of original recordings under the label APO Records.

As I explain in the current issue's "As We See It" column, I decide on the ratings of the equipment featured in Stereophile's "Recommended Components" listing after consultation with the reviewers, taking into account the original review comments and, sometimes, my own experience.

Copy-protection hysteria in the entertainment industry is driving possible changes in copyright laws that could make what is legal today illegal tomorrow. Legislation such as Senator "Fritz" Hollings' to-be-introduced Security Systems Standards and Certification Act could erode long-established "fair use" provisions that allow consumers to make compilation CDs and video recordings of favorite TV shows.