<B>TONY BENNETT/BILL EVANS: <I>The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album</I></B><BR><FONT SIZE="2">Tony Bennett, vocals; Bill Evans, piano<BR>JVC JVCXR-0208-2 (CD). 1975/2001. Helen Keane, prod.; Don Cody, eng.; Akira Taguchi, XRCD2 prod., Alan Yoshida, XRCD2 mastering eng. AAD?. TT: 35:09<BR>Performance <B>*****</B><BR>Sonics <B>****</B></FONT>

Listening to multichannel music with the new SACD and DVD-Audio players has produced equal parts contentment and consternation. The contentment is easy to understand: Here are media that can reproduce music with better-than-CD resolution and, for the first time, re-create a believable illusion of the entire acoustic space in which the performance was recorded. The consternation is related to those same two issues: 1) maintaining the resolution and tonal balance relished with high-quality stereo, and 2) making the psychological transition from two-channel to multichannel listening. Both of these are barriers to audiophile acceptance of multichannel music.

As Michael Fremer reports, critics have universally hailed Infinity's $8k flagship Prelude MTS. But can the success of the MTS trickle down to the lower price points? For his review of the $2000/pr <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/364/">Infinity Intermezzo 2.6 loudspeaker</A>, Fremer set out to determine if the more modest sibling is a "worthwhile chip off the old block or just a marketing divot."

It might stand to reason that the first market for DVD-Audio discs will likely be consumers who already own DVD-Video machines. It also stands to reason that a large number of consumers who have set up a DVD-Video player in their systems have also added surround-sound speakers in their audio/video rooms, and are looking for new software to take advantage of the extra channels.

The fate of <A HREF="http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records</A> has been the subject of music industry speculation for months. The company's financial difficulties have been no secret; several stories recently appeared alluding to a new <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11041/">Tower policy</A> of making some suppliers share the burden&mdash;especially distributors of small specialty classical labels.

Times are obviously tough for personal computer manufacturers, who, in the quest for new sources of revenue, are increasingly dipping their toes into consumer electronics waters. The latest firm to join IBM, Intel, and Compaq (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11066/">previous</A&gt;) in the rushing stream is <A HREF="http://www.hp.com">Hewlett-Packard</A&gt; which announced last week the expansion of the company's drive into the living room. HP says that its new initiative is intended to "blend interactive product innovations with easy-to-use services and offer consumers new ways to enjoy digital music, streaming video, and Internet information in the living room."

The compact disc has given rise to all sorts of questionable accessories: magic pens with green ink, reflective stickers, rim dampers, absorbent mats, spindle weights, cleaners, buffers, polishers, and demagnetizers. It's amazing how many products are needed to make perfect sound perfect.

Attendees at the <A HREF="http://www.cedia.org/">Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association</A> Expo 2001 will be the first to see new Aragon products, parent company <A HREF="http://www.klipsch.com">Klipsch</A&gt; announced in late June. The Indianapolis-based audio manufacturer will unveil new Aragon/Klipsch home theater systems at the annual show held in its hometown the first week of September. The show's stature has grown to such an extent that many companies now choose to debut new products there rather than at the January Consumer Electronics Show.

You can bet Infinity plans on selling a respectable number of $8000/pair <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/295/">Prelude MTS</A> speakers (reviewed in the May 2000 <I>Stereophile</I>) over this ambitious, full-range design's anticipated lifespan. But will the company make enough money to recoup the megabucks spent on researching, designing, and developing the all-new CMMD (Ceramic Metal Matrix Diaphragm) drivers, BASH (Bridge Amplifier Switching Hybrid) powered subwoofer, and RABOS (Room Adaptive Bass Optimization System) bass-equalization system? NOWAY (Never Over-Estimate What Acronyms Yield).