According to a report released last week by <A HREF="http://www.cahnersinstat.com">Cahners In-Stat Group</A>, a high-tech market research firm, the market for personal digital music players using audio compression technologies will experience a tremendous increase in growth through the next several years. Nearly $800 million in player sales are expected in 2003, spurred largely by widespread Internet access. The report also states that products in this segment will initially focus on downloading technologies like MP3, and over the next 12 months consumers should expect to see more features integrated into the players such as FM tuners, increased storage capacity, and security systems like Secure Digital Music Initiative (<A HREF="http://sdmi.org/">SDMI</A&gt;).

The age of digital music downloads has begun in earnest. On July 20, <A HREF="http://www.emigroup.com/">EMI Recorded Music</A> announced that it has signed a deal with <A HREF="http://www.digitalon-demand.com/">Digital On-Demand</A> and its subsidiary, RedDotNet Inc., to make the EMI catalog available for downloading to kiosks in music stores. The kiosks will be equipped with CD "burners" where customers can copy EMI recordings not in stock in the stores. They will also be able to print out the original cover art and liner notes. Discs can be copied at high speed in 5 to 15 minutes using RedDotNet's technology, the announcement noted.

Yet another major music company has joined the digital downloading stampede, in the wake of the Secure Digital Music Initiative's (<A HREF="http://www.sdmi.org/">SDMI</A&gt;) recent progress toward formulating copyright standards. On July 19, <A HREF="http://www.unimusic.com/">Universal Music Group</A> announced its intention to make its titles available for downloading to the coming generation of portable audio players. New devices from Diamond Multimedia, Toshiba, and Panasonic&mdash;all expected to hit the market by the winter holiday season&mdash;will play encrypted tunes from Universal and other big labels.

While decidedly "niche products," as Martin Colloms describes them, single-ended (SE) tube amplifiers have still found a happy home in many audiophile systems. But a trap awaits those who wish to evaluate the differences between an SE and a solid-state or push-pull tube amplifier, or between two SE amps. In "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//features/127/">The Unseen Variable</A>," Colloms digs to the bottom of this complicated matter.

The Secure Digital Music Initiative (<A HREF="http://sdmi.org/">SDMI</A&gt;) appears to be the antidote to many a record executive's worst audio poison: legions of young music fans downloading digital audio files off the Internet and passing them around with no regard to copyright restrictions. But what might be the answer to some companies' prayers could prove to be the Big Brother nightmare feared by others.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.semiconductors.com/">Philips Semiconductors</A> announced the CD10 chipset, which the company describes as the world's first two-chip solution to deliver CD-RW (compact disc, re-writeable) compatibility for CD audio players. According to Philips, one chip provides a data amplifier and laser supply circuit, while the other is the digital servo, decoder, and DAC. As a result, Philips claims that the new chipset allows designers to build audio players that can read all forms of CDs without an increase in component count.

Last week, satellite-to-car radio broadcaster <A HREF="http://www.cdradio.com/">CD Radio</A> announced an agreement with mobile electronics manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.alpine1.com/">Alpine Electronics</A> for the design and development of satellite radio receivers. Under the terms of the agreement, Alpine says it will design and develop three-band (AM/FM/CD Radio) audio receivers for installation by car manufacturers. The company also plans to design and develop satellite radio receivers for sale directly to consumers in the electronics aftermarket.

Internet music retailer <A HREF="http://www.cdnow.com/">CDnow</A&gt; has formed a partnership with <A HREF="http://www.sony.com/">Sony Corporation</A> and <A HREF="http://www.timewarner.com/">Time Warner</A> to build a music and video retailing behemoth. The July 13 announcement came in the wake of online bookseller <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon.com</A>'s recent move into the music market. With the backing of corporate giants Sony and Time Warner, CDnow could be able to mount a challenge to the growing presence of Amazon, which is also expanding into toy sales and consumer electronics.

After months of wrangling, the <A HREF="http://www.sdmi.org/">Secure Digital Music Initiative</A> (SDMI) has announced its first set of standards for portable digital music devices. Manufacturers can now incorporate these standards into the designs of new products. Many industry observers believe that portables will be the next big wave in consumer audio, expected to hit the market by the winter holiday season.