I wasn't raised a McIntosh lad. My dad used Fisher, Bogen, Leak, and Ampex tubed electronics&mdash;and, at one time, even home-built speakers&mdash;to keep the house filled with a steady, enriching flow of Mozart. He never owned a Mac component, and, when going upmarket, reached for B&O, alas. So while I knew that many audiophiles hold tubed McIntosh gear&mdash;especially the early designs&mdash;in very high regard, I was somehow never bitten or smitten. But let's face it&mdash;for lo these many years, McIntosh has been for many <I>the</I> name in quality American audio. Take my friend Dan, to whom I've referred several times in the pages of <I>Stereophile</I>. He runs a tubed Conrad-Johnson 9 preamplifier, but wouldn't <I>dream</I> of giving up his 270Wpc solid-state McIntosh MC7270. He's goldurn proud of it!

I wasn't raised a McIntosh lad. My dad used Fisher, Bogen, Leak, and Ampex tubed electronics&mdash;and, at one time, even home-built speakers&mdash;to keep the house filled with a steady, enriching flow of Mozart. He never owned a Mac component, and, when going upmarket, reached for B&O, alas. So while I knew that many audiophiles hold tubed McIntosh gear&mdash;especially the early designs&mdash;in very high regard, I was somehow never bitten or smitten. But let's face it&mdash;for lo these many years, McIntosh has been for many <I>the</I> name in quality American audio. Take my friend Dan, to whom I've referred several times in the pages of <I>Stereophile</I>. He runs a tubed Conrad-Johnson 9 preamplifier, but wouldn't <I>dream</I> of giving up his 270Wpc solid-state McIntosh MC7270. He's goldurn proud of it!

I wasn't raised a McIntosh lad. My dad used Fisher, Bogen, Leak, and Ampex tubed electronics&mdash;and, at one time, even home-built speakers&mdash;to keep the house filled with a steady, enriching flow of Mozart. He never owned a Mac component, and, when going upmarket, reached for B&O, alas. So while I knew that many audiophiles hold tubed McIntosh gear&mdash;especially the early designs&mdash;in very high regard, I was somehow never bitten or smitten. But let's face it&mdash;for lo these many years, McIntosh has been for many <I>the</I> name in quality American audio. Take my friend Dan, to whom I've referred several times in the pages of <I>Stereophile</I>. He runs a tubed Conrad-Johnson 9 preamplifier, but wouldn't <I>dream</I> of giving up his 270Wpc solid-state McIntosh MC7270. He's goldurn proud of it!

I wasn't raised a McIntosh lad. My dad used Fisher, Bogen, Leak, and Ampex tubed electronics&mdash;and, at one time, even home-built speakers&mdash;to keep the house filled with a steady, enriching flow of Mozart. He never owned a Mac component, and, when going upmarket, reached for B&O, alas. So while I knew that many audiophiles hold tubed McIntosh gear&mdash;especially the early designs&mdash;in very high regard, I was somehow never bitten or smitten. But let's face it&mdash;for lo these many years, McIntosh has been for many <I>the</I> name in quality American audio. Take my friend Dan, to whom I've referred several times in the pages of <I>Stereophile</I>. He runs a tubed Conrad-Johnson 9 preamplifier, but wouldn't <I>dream</I> of giving up his 270Wpc solid-state McIntosh MC7270. He's goldurn proud of it!

I wasn't raised a McIntosh lad. My dad used Fisher, Bogen, Leak, and Ampex tubed electronics&mdash;and, at one time, even home-built speakers&mdash;to keep the house filled with a steady, enriching flow of Mozart. He never owned a Mac component, and, when going upmarket, reached for B&O, alas. So while I knew that many audiophiles hold tubed McIntosh gear&mdash;especially the early designs&mdash;in very high regard, I was somehow never bitten or smitten. But let's face it&mdash;for lo these many years, McIntosh has been for many <I>the</I> name in quality American audio. Take my friend Dan, to whom I've referred several times in the pages of <I>Stereophile</I>. He runs a tubed Conrad-Johnson 9 preamplifier, but wouldn't <I>dream</I> of giving up his 270Wpc solid-state McIntosh MC7270. He's goldurn proud of it!

I wasn't raised a McIntosh lad. My dad used Fisher, Bogen, Leak, and Ampex tubed electronics&mdash;and, at one time, even home-built speakers&mdash;to keep the house filled with a steady, enriching flow of Mozart. He never owned a Mac component, and, when going upmarket, reached for B&O, alas. So while I knew that many audiophiles hold tubed McIntosh gear&mdash;especially the early designs&mdash;in very high regard, I was somehow never bitten or smitten. But let's face it&mdash;for lo these many years, McIntosh has been for many <I>the</I> name in quality American audio. Take my friend Dan, to whom I've referred several times in the pages of <I>Stereophile</I>. He runs a tubed Conrad-Johnson 9 preamplifier, but wouldn't <I>dream</I> of giving up his 270Wpc solid-state McIntosh MC7270. He's goldurn proud of it!

I wasn't raised a McIntosh lad. My dad used Fisher, Bogen, Leak, and Ampex tubed electronics&mdash;and, at one time, even home-built speakers&mdash;to keep the house filled with a steady, enriching flow of Mozart. He never owned a Mac component, and, when going upmarket, reached for B&O, alas. So while I knew that many audiophiles hold tubed McIntosh gear&mdash;especially the early designs&mdash;in very high regard, I was somehow never bitten or smitten. But let's face it&mdash;for lo these many years, McIntosh has been for many <I>the</I> name in quality American audio. Take my friend Dan, to whom I've referred several times in the pages of <I>Stereophile</I>. He runs a tubed Conrad-Johnson 9 preamplifier, but wouldn't <I>dream</I> of giving up his 270Wpc solid-state McIntosh MC7270. He's goldurn proud of it!

The computer continues to insert itself into every aspect of daily life. Now it is a source for music from one's hometown&mdash;whether that town is across the state or across the ocean.

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.edig.com">e.Digital</A&gt; announced a licensing agreement to incorporate Sony's ATRAC3 sound-compression technology into e.Digital's portable Internet music-player designs. e.Digital claims that its multi-codec platform, including ATRAC3 support, can be incorporated into a variety of products including portable digital music players, home and automotive stereos, and functionally enhanced wireless phones.