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The Secure">http://www.sdmi.org">Secure Digital Music Initiative has decided to reconfirm San Diego–based Verance">http://www.verance.com">Verance Corporation's watermarking technology as its choice for inhibiting piracy in digitally recorded music. The May 21 announcement was made by the SDMI Plenary after a year-long campaign to evaluate the effectiveness and audibilityhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10870/">audibility; of watermarks from 14 different vendors. The group has also apparently decided to halt further research and development efforts, which have been widely blamed for hobbling the rollout of DVD-Audio.

Please bear with us a moment here—we know most audiophiles react to MP3-related news with a serious case of ringing ears, but tracing where the lo-fi market is currently headed can be instructive for understanding the distant hi-fi future. And if the new technology previewed last week at Qualcomm's">http://www.qualcomm.com/brew/">Qualcomm's BREW conference in San Diego is any indication, some parts of your audio future may, in fact, be wireless.

http://www.cirrus.com"> Cirrus Logic has initiated cutbacks in its workforce and other cost-reduction moves that are expected to save as much as $12 million annually. The Austin, TX–based semiconductor company stated May 15 that the measures are part of a general restructuring of its business model, in which its magnetic storage chip business will be de-emphasized in favor of its semiconductor business. Cirrus is the parent company of Crystal Semiconductor, maker of many high-performance digital audio chips.

Many small classical record labels are facing an uncertain future in the wake of a decision by Tower">http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records to put three classical distributors on buying hold. News of the decision, and discussions about its ramifications, have circulated on the Internet after an internal memo was leaked on May 1. The memo from company headquarters ordered store buyers at all 113 Tower stores in the US not to purchase from Allegro, Harmonia Mundi, and Qualiton, until receiving further notice. The three distributors represent dozens of small independent jazz and classical recording labels.

It's been a roller coaster ride for satellite radio upstarts Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Radio and XM">http://www.xmradio.com">XM Radio this past week as both companies fortunes shifted yet again. In a classic billion-dollar consumer electronics gamble, Sirius and XM are betting that they can reach critical mass by selling enough specially equiped digital radio receivers through car manufacturers while simultaneously signing up enough subscribers to reach profitability.

Will audio dealers be interested in selling a product that's been available so far only via mail-order? Audio">http://www.audioadvisor.com">Audio Advisor thinks so, and has created a new distribution company, WS Distributing, to begin selling the Musical Fidelity product line through "qualified" high-end audio dealers in the USA beginning May 21. Musical Fidelity has been available through retailers in Europe and Asia for years, but in the US, only from AA's catalog and website sales.

Chip Stern provides us with a mini-review of the Sony">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/346/">Sony SCD-777ES . Find out why this SACD player prompted him to exclaim: "At $2500, the SCD-777ES is not merely a Class A component, it's a steal."