<I>What's a pro audio company doing at CES?</I>

<I>What's a pro audio company doing at CES?</I>

<I>What's a pro audio company doing at CES?</I>

<I>What's a pro audio company doing at CES?</I>

Every once in a while, some mainstream journalist discovers the audiophile underground.

Neither <A HREF="http://www.verance.com">Verance</A&gt; nor <A HREF="http://www.digimarc.com">Digimarc</A&gt; have made friends in the consumer world, as they continue to develop and implement watermarking technologies used to restrict the use of digital media, such as DVD-Audio and CD discs. Audiophiles, in particular, are resisting any form of restriction technology, such as watermarking, that alters the digital data on a disc at the expense of audio fidelity.

The economic outlook may be gloomy, but there are bright spots here and there. One is Indianapolis-based <A HREF="http://www.klipsch.com">Klipsch Audio Technologies</A>, which, on November 5, announced a bold expansion program that will add more than 200 people to its workforce.

When it comes to digital music players and the future of computer-based entertainment, the computer industry appears to be going in two directions at once. Apple Computer has recently made a strong move into the portable music arena with its $399 iPod, a player that can store as many as 1000 songs. The company is also rumored to be developing software and computer-based editing equipment for the pro-audio industry.

For his review of the diminutive <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/445/">Acarian Systems Al&#243;n Petite</A> loudspeaker, Wes Phillips explains that the "li'l guys frequently image like bandits&mdash;which some of us just can't resist." Also included is Robert J. Reina's followup review of Al&#243;n's matching PW-1 woofer system, from February 1997, along with <I>his</I> take on the Al&#243;n Petite.