Perhaps it's the air in San Francisco, or more likely the fact that exhibitors and attendees were equally upbeat, but I came back from <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11672/">Home Entertainment 2003</A>, held at the grand old Westin-St. Francis Hotel days before I write this month's column, <I>jazzed</I>. I was one of 15,123 consumer, international press, and trade attendees, according to the official stats, and we were treated to more than 100 exhibit rooms showing and demonstrating 225 brands of audio and home-theater gear. <I>Stereophile</I>'s full report on what we saw and heard at the Show will appear in our September and October issues, while our web coverage can be found starting <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11662/">here</A&gt;(footnote 1).

<I>Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor trees...</I>&mdash;Revelation 7:3

<I>Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor trees...</I>&mdash;Revelation 7:3

<I>Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor trees...</I>&mdash;Revelation 7:3

For those who frequent the audio discussion groups on the Internet, the method by which <I>Stereophile</I> selects products for review seems to be a continuing source of fascination and conjecture. Supporters of fledgling manufacturers&mdash;whose products these Webcrawlers just <I>happen</I> to own&mdash;rail against the rule that products to be reviewed in the magazine must have at least five US dealers. Some suggest that <I>Stereophile</I>'s selection of review products is all about catering to advertisers and friends in the industry, a process that seems intended to exclude <I>their</I> favorite products from consideration.

For those who frequent the audio discussion groups on the Internet, the method by which <I>Stereophile</I> selects products for review seems to be a continuing source of fascination and conjecture. Supporters of fledgling manufacturers&mdash;whose products these Webcrawlers just <I>happen</I> to own&mdash;rail against the rule that products to be reviewed in the magazine must have at least five US dealers. Some suggest that <I>Stereophile</I>'s selection of review products is all about catering to advertisers and friends in the industry, a process that seems intended to exclude <I>their</I> favorite products from consideration.

For those who frequent the audio discussion groups on the Internet, the method by which <I>Stereophile</I> selects products for review seems to be a continuing source of fascination and conjecture. Supporters of fledgling manufacturers&mdash;whose products these Webcrawlers just <I>happen</I> to own&mdash;rail against the rule that products to be reviewed in the magazine must have at least five US dealers. Some suggest that <I>Stereophile</I>'s selection of review products is all about catering to advertisers and friends in the industry, a process that seems intended to exclude <I>their</I> favorite products from consideration.

For those who frequent the audio discussion groups on the Internet, the method by which <I>Stereophile</I> selects products for review seems to be a continuing source of fascination and conjecture. Supporters of fledgling manufacturers&mdash;whose products these Webcrawlers just <I>happen</I> to own&mdash;rail against the rule that products to be reviewed in the magazine must have at least five US dealers. Some suggest that <I>Stereophile</I>'s selection of review products is all about catering to advertisers and friends in the industry, a process that seems intended to exclude <I>their</I> favorite products from consideration.

For those who frequent the audio discussion groups on the Internet, the method by which <I>Stereophile</I> selects products for review seems to be a continuing source of fascination and conjecture. Supporters of fledgling manufacturers&mdash;whose products these Webcrawlers just <I>happen</I> to own&mdash;rail against the rule that products to be reviewed in the magazine must have at least five US dealers. Some suggest that <I>Stereophile</I>'s selection of review products is all about catering to advertisers and friends in the industry, a process that seems intended to exclude <I>their</I> favorite products from consideration.

For those who frequent the audio discussion groups on the Internet, the method by which <I>Stereophile</I> selects products for review seems to be a continuing source of fascination and conjecture. Supporters of fledgling manufacturers&mdash;whose products these Webcrawlers just <I>happen</I> to own&mdash;rail against the rule that products to be reviewed in the magazine must have at least five US dealers. Some suggest that <I>Stereophile</I>'s selection of review products is all about catering to advertisers and friends in the industry, a process that seems intended to exclude <I>their</I> favorite products from consideration.