Distressed <A HREF="http://www.carver.com/">Carver Corporation</A> announced August 31 that founder Bob Carver has signed a letter of intent to return as chairman and CEO of the company he founded 20 years ago. The letter also spells out conditions for a possible merger of Carver and <A HREF="http://www.sunfire.com/">Sunfire Corporation</A> as early as 18 months from now. Sunfire, manufacturer of the highly regarded Sunfire power amplifiers, is Bob Carver's privately held company.

In a recent bake-off, online retailer <A HREF="http://www.cdnow.com">CDnow</A&gt; was named top music banana by the New York consulting firm <A HREF="http://www.emarketer.com/">eMarketer</A&gt;. Although placing further down the list based on price alone, CDnow gained the highest overall score in an averaging of the rankings of six criteria. Rated on a scale of 1 to 5, these were: Selection, Price, Service, Usability, Presentation, and Features.

The autumn months will be hectic ones for the audio industry, with many gatherings vying for the attention of engineers, marketing executives, and journalists. Here are but a few of the coming events:

Hachette Filipacchi Magazines (HFM) announced last week that two of its titles, <I>Stereo Review</I> and <I>Video</I> magazines, would be merged to form a new magazine titled <I>Stereo Review's Sound & Vision</I>. According to the statement, the new title will be launched in February 1999, with the premiere issue to coincide with next year's Consumer Electronics Show.

Following the highly successful release of three Beatles outtakes sets a few years back, <A HREF="http://www.capitolrecords.com/">Capitol Records</A> announced last week that another set of unreleased recordings, this time from former Beatle John Lennon, will hit stores November 3. The four-disc set will include over 100 home recordings, studio outtakes, and other works never released in public. Titled <I>The John Lennon Anthology</I>, the set was put together with help from Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and their son Sean Lennon. Also included will be 60 pages of notes, including art, writings, and photos.

How much power do you really need? How much power can you actually use? What's necessary, and what's icing on the cake? And does <I>anyone</I> really need 1000Wpc?

How much power do you really need? How much power can you actually use? What's necessary, and what's icing on the cake? And does <I>anyone</I> really need 1000Wpc?

How much power do you really need? How much power can you actually use? What's necessary, and what's icing on the cake? And does <I>anyone</I> really need 1000Wpc?

How much power do you really need? How much power can you actually use? What's necessary, and what's icing on the cake? And does <I>anyone</I> really need 1000Wpc?

How much power do you really need? How much power can you actually use? What's necessary, and what's icing on the cake? And does <I>anyone</I> really need 1000Wpc?