Two elements that keep the audio business interesting are the new companies and technologies arriving almost every week (see also BW's <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10382/">story</A&gt;). Some stick around for years, while others fade away between hi-fi shows. But amid the incessant change are a handful of characters who stay with it, continually evolving with the industry and reinventing themselves with each twist and turn.

The official <A HREF="http://www.grammy.com/">website</A&gt; of the 41st Annual Grammy Awards was launched earlier this month with the help of a media team from the Atlanta division of <A HREF="http://www.ibm.com/">International Business Machines</A>. The Java-based site provides background information on the artists and events of the music-awards extravaganza, taking place Wednesday evening, February 24, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

You think we've got format problems these days? Take a peek back to 1963, when J. Gordon Holt ripped apart the then-new record technology from RCA in <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/95/">"Down with Dynagroove"</A>. Next, Wes Phillips writes an ode to his own Mr. Holland in <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/94/">"A Passion for Music"</A>.

Because online music retailers like <A HREF="http://www.cdnow.com">CDNow</A&gt; and <A HREF="http://www.Amazon.com">Amazon.com</A&gt; have likely taken a bite out of record-club sales, last week Internet company <A HREF="http://www.aol.com">America Online</A> and direct music marketer <A HREF="http://www.columbiahouse.com">Columbia House</A> announced a marketing agreement for both online and offline advertising and promotions, including product bundling, direct-mail initiatives, and co-marketing and advertising campaigns. Under the multi-year agreement, Columbia House, with more than 13 million members, will promote its music, video, and DVD clubs on AOL's Shopping Channel, as well as on AOL.com, CompuServe, Digital City, and Entertainment Asylum.

After dozens of thorny issues slowed its progress (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10281/">previous report</A>), last week the <A HREF="http://www.dvdforum.com/">DVD Forum</A> announced that its Steering Committee has approved Version 1.0 of the DVD-Audio Disc specifications, making it the fifth of the DVD format family after DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, and DVD-R. According to a statement, the DVD Forum says it will soon publish the DVD-Audio Format Book, which contains the detailed specification of the format, and make it available to authorized companies by "early spring of this year."

Last week we posted reviews of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/86/">Linn Sondek CD12 CD player</A> and the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/85/">Linn AV 51 system</A>. This week we add a review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//analogsourcereviews/88/">Linn Linto phono preamplifier</A>, as well as John Atkinson's report on the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/89/">Revel Ultima Gem loudspeaker & Ultima Sub-15 subwoofer</A>, and Tom Norton's review of the complete <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/90/">Revel Home Theater</A> speaker system.

Rare violin dealer Geoffrey Fushi has devoted many of the past several years and a substantial portion of his liquid assets to producing <A HREF="http://www.beinfushi.com/miracle.html"><I>The Miracle Makers</I></A>, a reference book-and-recording project honoring the works of Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu, late 17th- and early 18th-century makers of the world's most sought-after violins. Fushi is also the founder of the <A HREF="http://www.stradivarisociety.com/index.html">Stradivari Society</A>, a philanthropical organization of violin fanciers who loan their invaluable instruments to gifted students. Members believe that their treasures were intended to make music, not merely to gather dust in heavily guarded vaults.

When it comes to delivering audio/video programming to the home, there's no substitute for bandwidth. Typically measured in megahertz (MHz) for analog signals or megabits per second (Mbps) for digital datastreams, the amount of bandwidth your system can access determines how much programming you can receive and at what level of quality.

When it comes to delivering audio/video programming to the home, there's no substitute for bandwidth. Typically measured in megahertz (MHz) for analog signals or megabits per second (Mbps) for digital datastreams, the amount of bandwidth your system can access determines how much programming you can receive and at what level of quality.