As we enter the week of The Home Entertainment Show (HE2005), you can almost hear the audio industry holding its breath, waiting for the Show's April 28 opening date to announce new products, alliances, and strategies. However, despite the lack of hard news coming across the www.stereophile.com newsdesk this week, we <I>have</I> been receiving almost daily hints concerning the must-hear products and rooms awaiting us at the Hilton New York Hotel.

The Consumer Electronics Association announced last week its finalists for the 2005 "Demmy Awards," a collection of audio demonstration music that the group puts together for retailers and manufacturers. The panel of judges for the awards include <I>Stereophile</I>'s own John Atkinson.

"Spread out."&mdash;<I>Moe, addressing Larry and Curly</I>

"Spread out."&mdash;<I>Moe, addressing Larry and Curly</I>

"Spread out."&mdash;<I>Moe, addressing Larry and Curly</I>

"Spread out."&mdash;<I>Moe, addressing Larry and Curly</I>

"A guy's gotta carry a cow across a river. He's not strong enough, of course, so the only way he can do it is to cut the cow into pieces, carry them across a few at a time, and re-assemble the beast on the other side. When he's finished, he's got a cow on the other side of the river, but it's not exactly the <I>same</I> cow."

"A guy's gotta carry a cow across a river. He's not strong enough, of course, so the only way he can do it is to cut the cow into pieces, carry them across a few at a time, and re-assemble the beast on the other side. When he's finished, he's got a cow on the other side of the river, but it's not exactly the <I>same</I> cow."

"A guy's gotta carry a cow across a river. He's not strong enough, of course, so the only way he can do it is to cut the cow into pieces, carry them across a few at a time, and re-assemble the beast on the other side. When he's finished, he's got a cow on the other side of the river, but it's not exactly the <I>same</I> cow."