The best tonearm I ever heard was a second-generation Mission Mechanic, <I>ca</I> 1986. It was mounted on a Roksan Xerxes turntable, and I spent several happy hours listening to records on that combination (with a low-compliance EMT cartridge) in two very different systems: one with solid-state amplification from DNM and Roksan's own dynamic Darius loudspeakers, and the other&mdash;my home system of the time&mdash;using tube amplification from Conrad-Johnson and a borrowed pair of Stax electrostatic speakers.

The music industry is facing its toughest business climate in recent memory, and slow sales are hurting not only the record labels, but music retailers as well. In the face of continuing sales declines, store closings, mergers and consolidations, layoffs, and seemingly intractable digital distribution issues, the industry came together last month for its annual <A HREF="http://www.narm.com">National Association of Recording Merchandisers</A> (NARM) convention and trade show in Orlando, FL.

Michael Fremer <I>almost</I> grasps upsampling when he looks into the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/814/">dCS Verdi SACD transport, Purcell D/D converter, and Elgar Plus D/A converter</A>. MF notes, "Explaining what you get for your $34k is somewhat easier than explaining upsampling, but due to the dCS gear's enormous flexibility and multitude of features, it's not <I>that</I> much easier."

<I>Stereophile</I> was saddened to learn of the death of Herb Papier earlier this month. He was 86. A musician&mdash;he was an amateur trumpeter&mdash;music lover, and inventor, Papier was best known in the audiophile community as the designer and original manufacturer of the Wheaton Tri-Planar tonearm.

If a recent announcement by the nation's largest radio broadcaster is any indication of a trend, independent music promoters may be on their way to extinction.

A month after news of Apple Computer's start-up subscription music service, reports began circulating that the company was negotiating to buy Universal Music Group, the dominant player in the global music market. The rumored buyout, first reported April 10, was variously quoted at $5&ndash;6 billion. The discussions between Apple and UMG may have been blown out of proportion; by April 12 the <I>New York Times</I> was suggesting that Apple might invest in UMG, but was in no position to make an outright acquisition.

On April 8, <A HREF="http://www.rcot.com">Recoton Corporation</A> voluntarily revealed that it and all of its US-based subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

We were having trouble with the power in our home&mdash;the wall current, I mean, not the dynamics of our marriage&mdash;so I called the local utility. While the technician was here, he let me watch what he was doing. I had a chance to look inside our meter box, which is the junction between the utility's power lines and the circuit-breaker box in the cellar.

We were having trouble with the power in our home&mdash;the wall current, I mean, not the dynamics of our marriage&mdash;so I called the local utility. While the technician was here, he let me watch what he was doing. I had a chance to look inside our meter box, which is the junction between the utility's power lines and the circuit-breaker box in the cellar.