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At nearly simultaneous press receptions in London and New York on November 17, B&W unveiled its new 800 series loudspeakers, the first complete redesign of this respected and venerable line in more than six years. Wisely, the presentation began with cocktails and a surprisingly entertaining technical description of the innovations. The latter offered many reassurances that, although all aspects of the 800 line were examined, no changes were made simply for the sake of change, and the basic design principles withstood this re-examination. Thus, when we were, at last, treated to the displayed speakers themselves, we were not surprised that they greatly resembled their predecessors, and we focused, instead, on the new features.

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.

American fans of Jadis products take note: Pierre">http://www.pierregabriel.com/">Pierre Gabriel Acoustic recently announced that it has acquired exclusive distribution rights to Jadis">http://www.jadis-electronics.com">Jadis Electronics 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—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.

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."