The search for signal transparency has led to much experiment and debate concerning losses in fidelity that can be traced to the preamplifier or—as it's more often and awkwardly called these days when the phono stage is omitted—the "line controller."

Jitter is not what digital sound quality induces in the listener; rather it is the instability in the clock signal that controls exactly <I>when</I> the analog waveform is sampled in the original A/D conversion, or when the digital word input into a DAC results in an analog voltage being produced at the chip's output. "So what?" is the response of digital advocates, "As long as a digital one is recognized as a one and a digital zero as a zero, then how can there be any difference in sound?" goes their argument, normally culminating in a fervently expressed "Bits is bits!"

Jitter is not what digital sound quality induces in the listener; rather it is the instability in the clock signal that controls exactly <I>when</I> the analog waveform is sampled in the original A/D conversion, or when the digital word input into a DAC results in an analog voltage being produced at the chip's output. "So what?" is the response of digital advocates, "As long as a digital one is recognized as a one and a digital zero as a zero, then how can there be any difference in sound?" goes their argument, normally culminating in a fervently expressed "Bits is bits!"

In late February, many California music fans discovered in their mail a one-page form letter from the state's attorney general, Bill Lockyer, announcing that he was "pleased to enclose payment for your claim in the settlement of the Compact Disc Minimum Advertised Price Antitrust Litigation." Attached to the bottom of the form letter was a tear-off check made out to the aggrieved music fan from "CD MAP Antitrust Litigation" in Faribault, MN.

In its nearly two decades, Benicia, CA&ndash;based loudspeaker manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.nhthifi.com/">NHT</A&gt; has earned a well-deserved reputation for affordable high-performance products, among them legendary mini-monitors, such as the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/804">Super Zero</A> and Super One, as well as its full-range Model 3.3. Founded by Ken Kantor and Chris Byrne in 1986, the company was sold to Jensen International in the early 1990s, spun off to packaged goods specialist Recoton, and acquired by Rockford Corporation in the final days of 2002&mdash;an event that saved NHT from an uncertain fate.

John Atkinson headed to the Midwest last year to record another audiophile disc. In <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicrecordings/304deep"><I>Deep River</I>: the Cantus Spirituals Project</A>, JA describes the process of capturing a chorus of male voices with high-rez digital equipment. Atkinson notes, "Presented with the magnificent acoustic of Sioux Falls' 1500-seat Washington Pavilion of the Arts & Sciences, the question facing me was how to present what are still fairly intimate works while taking advantage of that supportive acoustic."

A <A HREF="http://cgi.stereophile.com/cgi-bin/showvote.cgi?346">recent online poll</A> indicates that a majority of <I>Stereophile</I>'s online readers still don't like the idea of using computers when it comes to enjoying music. If a new report accurately predicts the future, they might as well get used to the rest of the world's booting up their tunes.

What ails the music business? <I>Stereophile</I> reader Jim Steel, in an <A HREF="http://cgi.stereophile.com/cgi-bin/showvote.cgi?337">online poll</A> last year, opined, "Most of today's pop and metal is lifeless, heartless, and crude. Over-produced, synthetic, and the core product (songs) are mind-numbingly dull and without imagination."

The women in my family and extended circle of friends are generally captivated by good sound, but are often appalled by the brutish, monolithic packaging that passes for "styling" in high-end gear. "Not in <I>my</I> living room," is the refrain, often played in a minor key.