I first heard Eugene Gigout's pipe-organ masterpiece, the <I>Grand Chorus in Dialogue</I>, in the Smetana Concert Hall of Prague's Municipal House (Obecnim Dome) on a Saturday evening before the 2002 flood. I recall seeing the delicate, youthful Michele Hradecka sway from side to side to reach the pedals. In response, a massive wall of deep organ chords shook the hall, the magical acoustic blending the delicate, extended highs with the thunderous bass. But this memory mixed the music with the beauty of Prague's soaring church spires, brilliant red terracotta roofs, and lavish palaces.

Linn's early decision to develop hard-disk audio systems first got our attention when the Kivor project <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10645/">was announced</A> back at the 2000 Consumer Electronics Show. The Linn Kivor has now spent almost two years on the market, garnering a positive <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/497/">review</A&gt; from John Atkinson and a special "Editor's Choice" mention in this month's 2002 Products of the Year.

When do fractions of pennies add up to millions of dollars? Answer: When they are accumulated unpaid royalties for one of the most popular albums of all time.

How much does it cost to license DVD-Audio patents to create players or discs? That information was revealed last week when the <A HREF="http://www.dvd6cla.com">DVD6C Licensing Agency</A>, which represents the founders of the DVD Forum (formerly called the DVD Consortium) in the area of patent licensing, announced that it expects to start global licensing of essential patents for DVD-Audio and recordable DVD products on or about January 1, 2003.

Disc piracy is a profitable but increasingly risky business, with bootlegging-related shootings and armed robberies on the rise. Modern pirates have begun to imitate their sea-going ancestors, using force to acquire assets and territory.

<A HREF="http://www.cirruslogic.com">Cirrus Logic</A> has become the latest chipmaker to license audio watermarking technology from San Diego&ndash;based <A HREF="http://www.verance.com">Verance Corporation</A>. Cirrus will integrate Verance copy-prevention and copy-tracking technology in "a new line of high-performance chipsets for DVD devices," according to a November 20 announcement. Cirrus Logic's entry into the DVD-A arena may help boost market acceptance of the DVD-A format, executives conjectured.

From the current issue, Wes Phillips and John Atkinson tell the story of <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//features/714/"><I>Against the Dying of the Light</I>: the Second Cantus CD</A>. Phillips sets out to find the true genesis of this astonishing new recording from the Minnesota-based male-voice choir, while JA fills in the technical details.

Unpacking and installing a new component is always cause for excitement, even if one does it with almost mechanical regularity, and the anticipation is greater when the component is from a manufacturer of almost mythic reputation. So when John Atkinson asked if I'd like to audition Nagra's new PL-L preamplifier, I feigned calm as I accepted the assignment, even while remembering those years in college radio when I had to schlepp big Ampexes and Maggies. The sexy, portable Nagras were the stuff of dreams. Finally, I thought, I'd get my hands and ears on one.

Unpacking and installing a new component is always cause for excitement, even if one does it with almost mechanical regularity, and the anticipation is greater when the component is from a manufacturer of almost mythic reputation. So when John Atkinson asked if I'd like to audition Nagra's new PL-L preamplifier, I feigned calm as I accepted the assignment, even while remembering those years in college radio when I had to schlepp big Ampexes and Maggies. The sexy, portable Nagras were the stuff of dreams. Finally, I thought, I'd get my hands and ears on one.