I visited the Revel room on the last day of the January 1999 CES, expecting another dynamic demo of their Ultima line. Instead, I found a pair of floorstanding Performa F30s connected to a rack full of the best Mark Levinson electronics. Deeply impressed by the dynamics and clarity of this first model in the new Performa line, I called Revel's Kevin Voecks as soon as I got back to New York City, but was told that another <I>Stereophile</I> reviewer had already got first dibs on the F30. Would I be interested in one of the other Revels? Well, yes, sure, but...

I visited the Revel room on the last day of the January 1999 CES, expecting another dynamic demo of their Ultima line. Instead, I found a pair of floorstanding Performa F30s connected to a rack full of the best Mark Levinson electronics. Deeply impressed by the dynamics and clarity of this first model in the new Performa line, I called Revel's Kevin Voecks as soon as I got back to New York City, but was told that another <I>Stereophile</I> reviewer had already got first dibs on the F30. Would I be interested in one of the other Revels? Well, yes, sure, but...

I visited the Revel room on the last day of the January 1999 CES, expecting another dynamic demo of their Ultima line. Instead, I found a pair of floorstanding Performa F30s connected to a rack full of the best Mark Levinson electronics. Deeply impressed by the dynamics and clarity of this first model in the new Performa line, I called Revel's Kevin Voecks as soon as I got back to New York City, but was told that another <I>Stereophile</I> reviewer had already got first dibs on the F30. Would I be interested in one of the other Revels? Well, yes, sure, but...

It's mating season for entertainment-industry giants. <A HREF="http://www.sonymusic.com/">Sony Music Entertainment</A> and <A HREF="http://www.umusic.com/">Universal Music Group</A> are in talks to develop a jointly operated subscription music service for the Internet, according to a report the two companies issued in the first week of May. The news followed by only a week an announcement of a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10729/">possible merger</A> between record clubs Columbia House and BMG Music Club.

Bothered by bounce? Jonathan Scull offers some solutions for turntable owners with problem floors in <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//finetunes/226/">"Fine Tunes" No.20</A>. He also describes how impoverished audiophiles can make their own low-cost anti-vibration shelves. <I>Stereophile</I> readers respond with their own experiences&mdash;and a warning.

In early June, <A HREF="http://www.toshiba.com/">Toshiba</A&gt; will institute a new retailing program that embraces the Internet but favors traditional retailers. The electronics manufacturing giant will have "a defined group of Internet retailers" that will be built on a base of traditional retailers, according to an announcement made in late April. Later, the program will be expanded in stages to include Internet-only retailers. The announcement follows <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10662/">an announcement by Sony Corp.</A> late in January that Sony would begin direct Internet sales this year.

MP3 may be under constant attack by audiophiles, and by music-industry attorneys in the courts, but the format shows no indication of disappearing. Santa Clara, CA&ndash;based <A HREF="http://www.s3.com/">S3</A&gt;, maker of the Rio portable audio player, has reason to believe that MP3 has plenty of growth potential. The company is going after licensees for the Rio to make knockoffs, and has plans to produce Rio-type players for home and car audio this summer.

The continuing legal attacks on <A HREF="http://www.napster.com/">Napster</A&gt;, the free file-sharing software, and on <A HREF="http://www.mp3.com/">MP3.com</A&gt;, the downloadable music site, have spooked investors, according to the financial press. MP3.com's stock got hammered hard, dropping by about 40% almost immediately in the wake of a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10737/">recent decision</A> by US District Court judge Jed S. Rakoff in favor of the <A HREF="http://www.riaa.com/">Recording Industry Association of America</A>'s copyright-violation complaint against the Internet startup.

No artist in the history of sound recordings has a more confused recorded legacy than Elvis Presley. Thanks to several generations' worth of ruthless avarice by his label, the constant machinations and eventual fire sale by his manager, Col. Tom Parker, and his own pathetic sloth, due in part by a 20-year addiction to prescription drugs, Elvis's recorded catalog is an absolute disaster: cut and pasted, issued and reissued as both budget and full-priced collections, exploited beyond all recognition. Keeping track of Elvis's catalog is one of, if not the most, labyrinthine discography in rock 'n' roll history. When all the foreign issues and reissues of his work are taken into account, it is, (speaking from recent experience) an endeavor which severely tasks the human capacity for tedium.