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"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 anyone really need 1000Wpc?" Jonathan Scull takes the Boulder">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/764/">Boulder 2050 monoblock amplifier into the listening chamber to confront these and other pressing audio dilemmas.

Having a great product at a fair price is mandatory practice in the ever-competitive audio business. But getting the word out and placing those products in front of the customer is just as critical—some might argue, even more important. If this is true, then Canadian speaker company Athena has just made the score of a lifetime.

Heads up RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America): those music dollars skittering away in all directions probably have very little to do with online file trading. That was the message last week as members of two important trade organizations challenged the conventional RIAA view that blames peer-to-peer networks for the record industry's third dismal year in a row.

Echo.

Three reviews from January: First, Art Dudley gives us his take on the Final">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/759/">Final Laboratory Music-4 phono preamplifier, Music-5 line preamplifier, and Music-6 power amplifier. Art writes, "Modern hi-fi is little more than a way of getting electricity to pretend that it's music."

Retailing can be a rough ride even in the best of times. In the current climate, it’s especially hard for those trying to make a go of it with recorded music.

Liquid">http://www.liquidaudio.com">Liquid Audio has been under attack for most of its short life, first from competitors and then from its">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11144/">its own shareholders and corporate raiders. But the tumultuous journey may finally be coming to an end as the company reports that it is settling some of its lawsuits and shareholder claims while selling its remaining assets.