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Audiophiles of a certain age may very well have first tasted high-end sound by way of Linn's 1972 Sondek">http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/1103linn/">Sondek LP12 turntable and/or Naim's 1982 Nait">http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/660/">Nait integrated amplifier. There aren't many audio manufacturers that have managed to keep components in production for 25 years (35 for the Linn), but the two venerable British designs have been continuously upgraded over their lives, keeping them competitive.

Although some won't openly admit it, plenty of audiophiles with nice systems also own iPods. And they are not alone. According to figures recently revealed by the Consumer">http://www.CE.org">Consumer Electronics Association, more than 152 million Americans, representing 70% of the total US adult population, own some kind of portable entertainment device.

Stephen Mejias: On Thursday, April 12, Stereophile’s editorial assistant, Ariel Bitran, and I left the office at around 5pm, walked over to Grand Central, hopped on the 6 train, and made our way to New York City’s Lyric Hi-Fi.

As Ariel discussed last week, Lyric was one of two premier NYC dealers&#151the other was Stereo Exchange&#151that opted against participating in the New York Audio & AV Show, and instead held their own events.

Because both Lyric and Stereo Exchange are successful operations, run by smart people, we figured they must have good reasons for doing things their own way. But, even as the weekend approached, those reasons weren’t fully clear. Were financial obstacles impossible to overcome? Were issues of logistics too much of a burden? Had there been some sort of communication breakdown between the dealers and the show’s organizers? Did it simply make little sense for Lyric and Stereo Exchange to participate, or were they just being hard-nosed, stubborn, elitist?

Perhaps we would find some answers inside.

Audio Connection in Verona New Jersey welcomes Garth Leerer of Musical Surroundings on Saturday, June 8, from Noon to 5pm for their 9th annual Analog Open House. Audio Connection will feature new products direct from the Munich High End show, including the first US showing of the AMG Viella Forte turntable.

Could American copyright law be applied outside US borders?

A slump in the music business is officially over. Sales of recorded music in the United States last year totaled $14.6 billion, an all-time high. The figure is a 6.3% increase from 1998's total of $13.7 billion, the previous record, according to a recent reporthttp://www.riaa.com/stats/press/021800.htm">report; from the Recording">http://www.riaa.com/">Recording Industries Association of America (RIAA).

Recorded music as a packaged-goods commodity continues to decline, according to figures released March 4 by the Recording">http://www.riaa.com/news/newsletter/030404.asp">Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).