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Back in the bad old pioneer days of high fidelity, the 1960s and early 1970s, amplifier manufacturers embarked on a specifications war, claiming ever lower percentages of total harmonic distortion. But, as J. Gordon Holt presciently pointed out in the 1960s, without reference to the spectrum of the distortion harmonics, the actual percentage was not in itself a reliable indicator of an amplifier's sound quality. And as those early low-THD models had distortion spectra that were heavily biased toward the sonically objectionable fifth, seventh, and ninth harmonics, and suffered from other related ills, they tended to sound quite nasty.

Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, Inc., whch declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June">http://stereophile.com/news/061807chapter11/">June 11, accepted a $38 million bid for a "going concern" acquisition from Schultze Asset Management, a firm specializing in "distressed positions."

Things looked grim for Internet radio late last week. On July 11, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals declined to delay the increasehttp://stereophile.com/news/031907internet/">increase; in digital performance royalties the Copyright Royalty Board imposed last March. The new fees were scheduled to go into effect on July 15, retroactive to the beginning of 2006.

Treasured as much for her bubbling personality and administrative acumen as for her extraordinary voice, coloratura soprano Beverly Sills died of lung cancer on July 2. One of the finest high-flying sopranos of the latter 20th century, she leaves behind a rich legacy of recordings and an opera scene revitalized by her tireless efforts on behalf of American singers.

As we reportedhttp://stereophile.com/news/030507kreisel/">reported; last March, Ken">http://stereophile.com/interviews/136/">Ken Kreisel declared bankruptcy, closing M&K Sound after 34 years of operation. Last week, the Great American Group, which, according to its website, "provides asset management, disposition, and financial services," announcedhttp://www.greatamerican.com/admin/uploads/events/047adb79-a055-4a5a-95…; that it would offer M&K's $3 million in assets at auction on July 19.

Some days the music business reminds us of that old Tom Lehrer quote: "Political satire became obsolete the day they awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Henry Kissinger." It also seems that you can't out-stupid the record industry.

Now that more and more music lovers are turning to the Internet to purchase CDs, DVDs, and downloadable files#151;see WP's story">http://www.stereophile.com/news/062507itunes3/">story on iTunes this week—Naxos isn't taking any chances. The world's largest classical music label, whose US branch, Naxos of America, also claims to be the #1 independent distributor of classical music in the US, has recently set up multiple websites to lure music lovers into the fold.