Although it <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11129/">announced support</A> for SACD in early September, the world's third-largest record label, <A HREF="http://www.emigroup.com">EMI Music Distribution</A>, says it is also gearing up for a full slate of DVD-Audio titles. While the company has numerous new releases available, these will be the first to come from its back catalog.

It's a Mac attack! First up is Jonathan Scull's take on the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/428/">McIntosh MC1201 monoblock power amplifier</A>. Festooning his listening loft with a pair of the "Great American Icons," J-10 is ready to rumble with "the biggest power meters you ever saw this side-a Milwaukee."

Many audiophiles agree that dedicated AC circuits can make notable improvements in the performance of hi-fi equipment. If you are planning to run a dedicated AC line, <A HREF="http://www.jpslabs.com">JPS Labs</A> has a product for you.

Will the official online music gates finally stream open and flood us with non-pirated tunes? Perhaps. One important step in the process has finally been taken. The <A HREF="http://www.nmpa.org">National Music Publishers' Association</A> (NMPA), the Harry Fox Agency (HFA), and the <A HREF="http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America</A> (RIAA) announced last week that they have come to a "breakthrough" agreement on the licensing of musical works for new subscription services on the Internet.

Napster may be down for the count, but its millions of former members are happily swapping audio files elsewhere, according to an October 10 report from technology research firm <A HREF="http://www.jmm.com">Jupiter Media Metrix Inc</A>.

The need to cut costs may push the music industry to experiment with collaborative manufacturing and distribution, according to reports that emerged the first week of October.

As the results from last week's Vote prove, having the right tool for the audiophile job makes all of the difference. And a lot of you selected the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//features/424/"><I>Stereophile</I&gt; Test CD 3</A> as your weapon of choice for uncovering the good, the bad, and the ugly of a component under consideration. Here's the complete story on the most recent test disc from <I>Stereophile</I> and company.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.cirrus.com">Cirrus Logic</A> unveiled what it is calling the world's highest-performance six- and eight-channel D/A converters, which the company says will give consumers the ability to decode high-resolution multichannel surround content at home or in the car. The converters are the latest addition to Cirrus Logic's Total-E platform group of products.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.napster.com/">Napster</A&gt; announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement with US songwriters and music publishers to settle a class action lawsuit currently pending in federal court in California. The beleaguered company says the agreement includes terms under which the songwriters and music publishers will license their music to Napster's new membership-based service.