The terrorist attack of September 11 will likely worsen an already dark period for American retailers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by more than 14% in the week after the attack, the largest slide since the week of July 21, 1933. In the present circumstances, Americans are generally reticent to spend money, according to many reports, a situation that will affect manufacturers and retailers for months or years to come.

The official launch of <A HREF="www.xmradio.com">XM Satellite Radio</A> was set for September 12. But within hours of the September 11 attack on New York and the Pentagon, XM announced that it would be postponing its debut, which was slated to take place in Washington DC at its headquarters and broadcast studio complex.

A comprehensive set of reviews awaits those interested in learning everything there is to know about the legendary <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/416/">Quad ESL-63 loudspeaker</A>. Writers checking in with analysis, background, and opinion include J. Gordon Holt, Anthony H. Cordesman, Sam Tellig, Martin Colloms, Larry Greenhill, and John Atkinson.

Last month I wrote about lasers of various pedigrees, so useful in marking walls to the sides and behind the listening position to ensure that your loudspeakers are toed-in, level, and equidistant from the sweet spot for best soundstage, imaging and focus. Using small Avery stick-'em labels makes this a snap. I've converged the tweeter axes of my JMlab Utopias somewhere about a foot into the wall behind the rearmost of our two listening chairs, and use two Studio Traps and a single Argent RoomLens between the speakers to cancel and damp the near-rear-wall reflections. With just a jiggle of the chair back or forward, suddenly I'm there.

There is an overwhelming amount of pop music available on the Internet, but where does the serious music fan go in search of jazz, classical, or opera?

Wes Phillips pries a hard-to-acquire <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/412/">Ayre Acoustics V-3 power amplifier</A> out of company hands and puts it to the sonic test. Does the amp live up to its legendary "Best of Show" status? Phillips has the answer.

In the wake of last week's disasters in New York, Washington, DC, and Pittsburgh, <A HREF="http://www.audioasylum.com">Audio Asylum</A> and <A HREF="http://www.audiogon.com">Audiogon</A&gt; have banded together to co-sponsor a charity auction of audio equipment to benefit the NY Firefighters' Fund and other related charities.

Citing increasing competition from stronger companies and online music ventures about to debut from major record labels, an investment group has taken the drastic step of calling for the sale of <A HREF="http://www.liquidaudio.com">Liquid Audio</A>.

The number of two-channel Super Audio Compact Discs seems to grow by the week. There are now several hundred titles to choose from&mdash;and hundreds on the way, with the recent endorsement of the format by major record labels. Even so, there are still very few SACDs that exploit the multichannel capabilities of Direct Stream Digital.