The integration of computers into high-end audio is contentious. A <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/showvote.cgi?340">reader poll last spring</A> on our website indicated that a significant proportion of audiophiles&mdash;a quarter&mdash;is dead set against the idea, yet both Microsoft, with Windows Media Player 9, and Apple, with iTunes, seem convinced that the future of domestic music reproduction involves computers. To support that idea, both Apple- and Windows-based computers (the latter with Intel's about-to-be-launched HD Audio technology) are promoting hi-rez audio playback.

Credit-card amps: Miniaturization could change the look and feel of many audio products. On October 29, Austin, TX&ndash;based <A HREF="http://www.d2audio.com/">D2Audio</A&gt; announced its new line of MXS amplifiers, each only 1.5" tall with a footprint no bigger than a credit card. Intended for use with in-wall or on-wall loudspeakers, MXS amps can deliver up to 125Wpc into 8-ohm speakers or up to 250Wpc into 4-ohm speakers, with THD+N of <0.1% at full-rated power from 20Hz to 20kHz. Dynamic range is specified at "up to 145dB." The tiny digital amplifiers have programmable DSP features and 93% power efficiency, thereby eliminating the need for large heatsinks, and are said to sound as good or better than many traditional designs. Two-channel modules can also be used for bi-amping, according to the manufacturer.

American fans of Jadis products take note: <A HREF="http://www.pierregabriel.com/">Pierre Gabriel Acoustic</A> recently announced that it has acquired exclusive distribution rights to <A HREF="http://www.jadis-electronics.com">Jadis Electronics</A> in the USA. Jadis is based in Villedubert, France and manufactures tube-based audio electronics.

Both the SACD and DVD-Audio disc formats are striking out, with a shaky DualDisc next up to bat. But the video twins HD-DVD and Blu-ray are warming up in the bullpen&mdash;and they just might save the day for high-resolution audio.

The merger of Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) may not be a done deal after all.

Satellite radio continues to surge in popularity, but competitors XM and Sirius both posted losses for the third fiscal quarter, ended September 30.

I've watched from the sidelines with great interest the recent debate in this column over Home Theater (footnote 1) At one extreme is the suggestion that <I>Stereophile</I> begin reviewing video and Home Theater products. The other end of the spectrum was best expressed by John Atkinson at <I>Stereophile</I>'s 1993 High-End Hi-Fi Show in San Francisco. Hearing the booming bass overflow of a Home Theater demonstration blasting down a hallway, he said, "They've brought <I>televisions</I> to our hi-fi show!"

Here in Chicago the other day, I was on my way to an appliance store, so audio was the last thing on my mind. But, as if by some miraculous intervention (or just stupidity), I parked and went in the wrong store: "Why does this appliance store have bins and bins of CDs in it?" Realizing my mistake, I found the stoves and ranges I was looking for next door&mdash;but not before noticing bins and bins of used LPs behind all those CDs.

Perhaps I first should have consulted my horoscope in the local newspaper. But I can't imagine what it could have said that might have warned me off. So, in blissful ignorance, I went to the local big-box consumer-electronics chain retailer and laid down my lettuce. I thought I was buying the SACD version of Norah Jones' <I>Come Away With Me</I> (Blue Note 5 41472 8), but, by the end of the affair, I felt I'd gotten <I>The Royal Scam</I> (footnote 1).