John Atkinson flapped his bushy eyebrows at me and smiled slyly. "Hey, J-10, why don't <I>you</I> do the Sony SCD-C333ES SACD carousel player for April?" Usually, when JA gets that look on his face, I seek shelter. The phone bripped suddenly in my office, but I knew it was too late. "Oooo-<I>kay</I>..." I smiled back, thinking of <I>Stereophile</I>'s recent covers and the hubbub, bub, thick as it comes, that they'd produced. (See "Letters" in the February and March issues.)

John Atkinson flapped his bushy eyebrows at me and smiled slyly. "Hey, J-10, why don't <I>you</I> do the Sony SCD-C333ES SACD carousel player for April?" Usually, when JA gets that look on his face, I seek shelter. The phone bripped suddenly in my office, but I knew it was too late. "Oooo-<I>kay</I>..." I smiled back, thinking of <I>Stereophile</I>'s recent covers and the hubbub, bub, thick as it comes, that they'd produced. (See "Letters" in the February and March issues.)

John Atkinson flapped his bushy eyebrows at me and smiled slyly. "Hey, J-10, why don't <I>you</I> do the Sony SCD-C333ES SACD carousel player for April?" Usually, when JA gets that look on his face, I seek shelter. The phone bripped suddenly in my office, but I knew it was too late. "Oooo-<I>kay</I>..." I smiled back, thinking of <I>Stereophile</I>'s recent covers and the hubbub, bub, thick as it comes, that they'd produced. (See "Letters" in the February and March issues.)

Satellite radio goes high-end: Beginning early next year, <A HREF="http://www.krellonline.com/">Krell Industries</A> will enter the booming market for satellite radio receivers with an XM Radio tuner. The $4000 unit will reportedly also receive traditional AM and FM broadcasts; an optional module will let it stream Internet audio via 802.11g wireless connection to a broadband modem, according to the September 27 edition of <I>This Week in Consumer Electronics</I> (<A HREF="http://www.twice.com">TWICE</A&gt;). The tuner will join Krell's line of custom installation products. In a similar but less expensive vein will be new Sirius tuners from <A HREF="http://www.russound.com/">Russound</A&gt;. At $699 and $999, the two new models will also include AM/FM tuners.

There's a certain commercial symbiosis between audio companies and public performance spaces. Tokyo has its <A HREF="http://www.yamaha-hall.co.jp/">Yamaha Hall</A>; New York has its Avery Fisher Hall (<A HREF="http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/abram/abram.html">1</A&gt;, <A HREF="http://www.lincolncenter.org/visitor/halldescriptions_afh.asp?ws=">2</A…;), named for the hi-fi pioneer whose products were among the best available in the early 1960s.

Jack English noted in March 1994, "I lobbied ProAc designer Stuart Tyler tirelessly to take a crack at a truly full-range speaker which would preserve the strengths of the Response lineup. My wish came true in mid-1993, with the release of the monstrous <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/394proac">ProAc Response 4 loudspeaker</A>."

Last week we reported Dolby's <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/092704mlp/">announcement</A&gt; that varying versions of their audio technologies have been selected as "mandatory formats" for <A HREF="http://www.dvdforum.org">HD DVD</A> and <A HREF="http://www.blu-raydisc.com">Blu-ray</A&gt;. Significant for audiophiles is that MLP and high-resolution PCM audio will be available both as two-channel and surround formats on HD DVD.

If the sole criterion for choosing a winner in today's hotly contested premium arms race was original thinking, the Immedia RPM-2 might well come out on top. While some of its design details resemble those found on other products, in many significant areas the arm is unique&mdash;not for uniqueness's sake, but in order to efficiently implement some clearly considered goals. If the unipivot RPM-2 bears a resemblance to any other contemporary arm, it is Naim's highly regarded ARO&mdash;which I've never heard. The similarity, though, would appear to be superficial.

If the sole criterion for choosing a winner in today's hotly contested premium arms race was original thinking, the Immedia RPM-2 might well come out on top. While some of its design details resemble those found on other products, in many significant areas the arm is unique&mdash;not for uniqueness's sake, but in order to efficiently implement some clearly considered goals. If the unipivot RPM-2 bears a resemblance to any other contemporary arm, it is Naim's highly regarded ARO&mdash;which I've never heard. The similarity, though, would appear to be superficial.