<B>Part 1: Wes Phillips on the CD's genesis</B>

<B>Part 1: Wes Phillips on the CD's genesis</B>

<B>Part 1: Wes Phillips on the CD's genesis</B>

<B>Part 1: Wes Phillips on the CD's genesis</B>

<B>Part 1: Wes Phillips on the CD's genesis</B>

Larry Greenhill wonders, "In crossing over into transistor products, would Conrad-Johnson be able to retain the simplicity, low distortion, and musicality of their tube designs?" LG fires up the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/734/">Conrad-Johnson Premier 18LS line preamplifier</A> to satisfy his curiosity.

Electronics retailers typically depend on the winter holiday shopping season to boost their year-end bottom lines. The hoped-for buying surge apparently hasn't happened in 2002, since Best Buy and Circuit City are both projecting slow sales.

The music industry intends to leave no stone unturned in its war on piracy. Just a week after reports emerged about crackdowns on sales of pirated CDs at <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11514/">flea markets and swap meets</A>, the <A HREF="http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America</A> (RIAA) announced a campaign to eliminate sales of unauthorized discs at gas stations, grocery and convenience stores, and small independent music outlets.

On December 14, the music industry and small webcasters concluded their long and often-acrimonious negotiations on royalties. The two parties&mdash;the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) "SoundExchange," a royalty-collecting body, and the Voice of Webcasters (VOW)&mdash;filed an agreement with the US Copyright Office in Washington that details generalities agreed to under the Small Webcaster Settlement Act (SWSA), signed December 4.