LATEST ADDITIONS

Credit-card amps: Miniaturization could change the look and feel of many audio products. On October 29, Austin, TX&ndash;based <A HREF="http://www.d2audio.com/">D2Audio</A&gt; announced its new line of MXS amplifiers, each only 1.5" tall with a footprint no bigger than a credit card. Intended for use with in-wall or on-wall loudspeakers, MXS amps can deliver up to 125Wpc into 8-ohm speakers or up to 250Wpc into 4-ohm speakers, with THD+N of <0.1% at full-rated power from 20Hz to 20kHz. Dynamic range is specified at "up to 145dB." The tiny digital amplifiers have programmable DSP features and 93% power efficiency, thereby eliminating the need for large heatsinks, and are said to sound as good or better than many traditional designs. Two-channel modules can also be used for bi-amping, according to the manufacturer.

American fans of Jadis products take note: <A HREF="http://www.pierregabriel.com/">Pierre Gabriel Acoustic</A> recently announced that it has acquired exclusive distribution rights to <A HREF="http://www.jadis-electronics.com">Jadis Electronics</A> in the USA. Jadis is based in Villedubert, France and manufactures tube-based audio electronics.

Both the SACD and DVD-Audio disc formats are striking out, with a shaky DualDisc next up to bat. But the video twins HD-DVD and Blu-ray are warming up in the bullpen&mdash;and they just might save the day for high-resolution audio.

Satellite radio continues to surge in popularity, but competitors XM and Sirius both posted losses for the third fiscal quarter, ended September 30.

Clearly from last week's survey, most of you feel that SACD and DVD-Audio are on the skids. But is it terminal? Do you think that high-resolution audio has a future?

Here in Chicago the other day, I was on my way to an appliance store, so audio was the last thing on my mind. But, as if by some miraculous intervention (or just stupidity), I parked and went in the wrong store: "Why does this appliance store have bins and bins of CDs in it?" Realizing my mistake, I found the stoves and ranges I was looking for next door&mdash;but not before noticing bins and bins of used LPs behind all those CDs.

Perhaps I first should have consulted my horoscope in the local newspaper. But I can't imagine what it could have said that might have warned me off. So, in blissful ignorance, I went to the local big-box consumer-electronics chain retailer and laid down my lettuce. I thought I was buying the SACD version of Norah Jones' <I>Come Away With Me</I> (Blue Note 5 41472 8), but, by the end of the affair, I felt I'd gotten <I>The Royal Scam</I> (footnote 1).