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Karmazin joins Sirius: The satellite radio service gained some serious traction in its recent acquisition of former Viacom, Inc. president Mel Karmazin. Just one month after signing "shock jock" Howard Stern to a multimillion-dollar contract, Sirius signed Karmazin to a five-year contract, bringing him in as its new chief executive officer. Joseph Clayton will relinquish the CEO title but remain chairman of the board. Karmazin departed Viacom in June and began discussions in earnest with Sirius after the satellite service landed Stern, in a move Karmazin described as "brilliant." Karmazin had previously dismissed the potential of satellite radio, but now believes it could be huge—larger, perhaps, than the growth he helped nurture at Infinity Broadcasting, which he took from a few stations to more than 200. Sirius stock rose more than 10% on the day Karmazin's contract was announced.

John Atkinson and Cantus are at it again. Last June, John and Cantushttp://www.cantusonline.org">Cantus;, the Minnesota-based male vocal ensemble, traveled to Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, to record an adventurous two-volume Christmas CD. Comfort and Joy: Volume One is being released this week.

Credit-card amps: Miniaturization could change the look and feel of many audio products. On October 29, Austin, TX–based D2Audiohttp://www.d2audio.com/">D2Audio; 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.

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—and they just might save the day for high-resolution audio.

The merger of Sony Music and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) may not be a done deal after all.

From the October 2004 issue, Larry Greenhill reviews the REL">http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/1004rel">REL Studio III subwoofer, explaining, "Determined to experience sub-bass in my listening room, I arranged with REL's US importer, Sumiko Audio, to audition their largest subwoofer, the Studio III."

You hear a dismaying amount of bad sound on the Audio Engineering Society (AEShttp://www.aes.org">AES;) convention floor. Tizzy high frequencies and mushy bass are more common than not, but encouragingly, good-sounding products tend to draw small crowds or generate a buzz among attendees.