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Engineering facilities and a finished-goods warehouse at Altec">http://www.altecmm.com">Altec Lansing Technologies' Milford, Pennsylvania, headquarters were damaged by fire late Sunday, May 31. The blaze was said to have been exacerbated by severe weather. No injuries were reported.

James Dunning, Jr., Chairman and CEO of The">http://www.petersenco.com">The Petersen Companies, Inc., announced June 4th the completion of the acquisition of Stereophile and Stereophile Guide to Home Theater (two of this country's leading high-end audio and home theater publications), as well as HI-FI '98, The Home Theater & Specialty Audio Show.

The practice of "Transshipping"---selling a product outside one's designated territory---is widespread in the audio industry. It's commonplace for dealers to sell not only to walk-in customers, but also over the telephone or Internet to customers in other dealers' territories, usually at discounted prices. While not problematic on a small scale, the practice favors large-volume dealers over smaller ones, and is almost always a violation of a dealer's agreement with a manufacturer.

Software giant Microsoft">http://www.microsoft.com">Microsoft Corporation has entered the audio market with a satellite-and-subwoofer speaker system for use with personal computers. The Digital Sound System 80 made its debut at this year's Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3), held May 28-30 in Atlanta's World Congress Center. The system was designed in conjunction with Philips">http://www.philips.com">Philips Electronics NV of the Netherlands, one of the world's largest electronics companies.

Did they capture the sound of her violin? Did the nuance of a 9' Steinway grand piano translate onto the disc with all of its dynamic range intact? Hear for yourself when Ida Levin and Delores Stevens mark the debut of Stereophile's latest recording, Duet, with two live performances at HI-FI '98.

In a move that establishes its leadership in the entertainment business, Seagram">http://www.seagram.com/">Seagram Company has purchased PolyGram">http://www.polygram.com">PolyGram NV from Philips">http://www.sv.philips.com/">Philips Electronics NV of Holland. The deal was valued at $10.6 billion.

In an effort to make computers more useful as audio systems, MusicMatchhttp://www.musicmatch.com">MusicMatch; and Xing">http://www.xingtech.com/">Xing Technology recently announced MusicMatch Jukebox, a digital audio management software program for the consumer market.