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.

<A HREF="http://www.ti.com">Texas Instruments</A> says it is on a quest to provide "high-performance audio solutions" for the home entertainment market. To prove it, last week the company announced its first stereo analog-to-digital converters supporting the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) specification and the Super Audio CD format (SACD).

Thanks to an agreement reached in October, musicians, rather than their record labels, will receive royalty payments for the use of recordings distributed over the Internet or broadcast over cable and satellite systems. Royalty collection agency <A HREF="http://www.soundexchange.com">SoundExchange</A&gt; will distribute payments directly to performers, regardless of their contracts with the record companies, according to a statement issued the second week of November.

<B>BOB DYLAN: <I>"Love and Theft"</I></B><BR> Columbia (85975) (CD). 2001. Jack Frost, prod.; Chris Shaw, engs. Jeremy Welch, asst. eng. AAD? TT: 57:35<BR> Performance <B>****1/2</B><BR> Sonics <B>****</B>