"Isn't it nice to have some bastions of stability in an ever-changing world?"

Cello, one of high-end audio's most prestigious names, is being revived by one of its former executives. Jim McCullough, who served as the brand's last vice president of international business development, has formed a new company, Matthew James LLC, which will make and market Cello electronics.

As Robert J. Reina writes, "I have a passion for great speaker designs at affordable prices, and with modern driver, crossover, and cabinet technologies making innovative strides, many serious high-end speaker designers are turning their attention to coming up with the next great budget speaker." At $649/pair, is the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/330/">PSB Image 4T loudspeaker</A> it? Reina divulges the results of his aural examination.

More than a year after BMG Germany had to <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10671/">recall</A&gt; a massive shipment of "copy-proof" CDs, an American record label is preparing to attempt a similar experiment. In April, Nashville independent label Music City Records will issue <I>Charley Pride: A Tribute to Jim Reeves</I>, copy protection included.

The <A HREF="http://www.eetimes.com/"><I>EE Times</I></A> is reporting that the DVD Forum is getting close to finalizing a specification that would allow audio signals to be available via digital outputs on DVD-Audio players. Audiophile frustration with the new DVD-A format has mounted in the months since its introduction, with lack of access to a high-resolution digital signal from players, which currently have analog-only outputs, and the possibility of watermarked discs.

Loudspeaker designer and manufacturer Richard Vandersteen has heard enough: He is embarking on a crusade to right an egregious wrong he sees being perpetuated by the marketing scribes and salesfolk working in the consumer electronics business. Though he was miles away, at his company headquarters in Hanford, CA, his passion for spreading the audiophile word came through the telephone loud and clear.

You can't stop progress&mdash;especially at <A HREF="http://www.ti.com/">Texas Instruments</A>. The Dallas, TX&ndash;based technology giant has introduced a new two-channel digital audio amplifier chip with the world's best specifications.

<B>RODNEY CROWELL: <I>The Houston Kid</I></B><BR>Sugar Hill SUG-CD-1065A (HDCD). 2001. Rodney Crowell, Peter Coleman, Steuart Smith, Jim Dineen, prods.; Hank Williams, eng. AAD? TT: 47:01<BR>Performance <B>*****</B><BR>Sonics <B>****</B>