Don't bother to tell <A HREF="http://www.musicloversaudio.com">Music Lovers Audio</A> that audio sales have slowed. At a time when many dealers have abandoned two-channel audio altogether or chosen between de-emphasizing music and calling it quits, this Bay Area audio retailer has opened a second store a mere 30 miles from the original North Berkeley location, across the Bay in San Francisco.

English digital audio company dCS has announced a major change in its management and ownership structure. David Steven, marketing manager for the last four years, has purchased the majority shareholding in the company. Derek Fuller, who was the business manager, has left the company, while Mike Story, dCS's founder, will continue as chief digital designer. A dCS press release says that the change should result in "products and programs that have a much more customer-centric focus."

Dave Barry posted this one today and it's just too fabulous not to share. Enjoy&mdash;and then spend the rest of the day listening to music with your families.

When I <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/152">reviewed</A&gt; VTL's MB-750 monoblock amplifier in the December 1997 <I>Stereophile</I> (Vol.20 No.12), it was a transitional time for the company. <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/153">Luke Manley</A> had recently taken it over, and he and his wife and partner, Bea Lam, were aggressively retooling. They introduced new business systems, including rigorous inventory and quality control; rebuilt VTL's dealer network around top-rank dealers; and systematically upgraded the products themselves to improve their consistency, reliability, manufacturability, and performance. VTL's goal, Luke explained to me at the time, was to build amplifiers that competed with the very best, and to "make the tubes invisible to the customer."

When I <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/152">reviewed</A&gt; VTL's MB-750 monoblock amplifier in the December 1997 <I>Stereophile</I> (Vol.20 No.12), it was a transitional time for the company. <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/153">Luke Manley</A> had recently taken it over, and he and his wife and partner, Bea Lam, were aggressively retooling. They introduced new business systems, including rigorous inventory and quality control; rebuilt VTL's dealer network around top-rank dealers; and systematically upgraded the products themselves to improve their consistency, reliability, manufacturability, and performance. VTL's goal, Luke explained to me at the time, was to build amplifiers that competed with the very best, and to "make the tubes invisible to the customer."