A four-day break between the Top Audio Show in Milan (September 14&ndash;17) and the <I>Hi-Fi News</I> Show in London (September 22&ndash;24) presented the perfect opportunity to accept a longstanding invitation from speaker manufacturer Focal-JMlab to visit its manufacturing facilities in France.

Surprise! If you love Beethoven, Schnittke, Reich, and Richard Strauss, and frequently play classical music on your iPod or hard drive, you're far from alone. Results of an Internet poll of classical music listeners commissioned by the British magazine <I>Gramophone</I> reveal that 75% of those surveyed use 21st-century media&mdash;everything from PCs to MP3 players&mdash;and 57% have ripped some of their classical CD collection to another digital format. In fact, 20% of respondents not only download classical music legally, but prefer to listen to it on their MP3 or other digital music player.

It turns out that an explosion in a fireworks factory looks exactly like you'd imagine. Thanks to YouTube, now we all know.
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Conceptual music and anti records (and CDs): A brief overview.

Bagheera may only weigh six pounds, but she can keep two (relatively) normal-sized humans perched on the outer edges of a queen-size bed. It's hers by dint of occupation&mdash;and she defends her space like it was a trademark.

Huckleberry subscribes to the <I>if I can't see you, I'm invisible</I> school of camouflage.