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With new audio formats such as SACD and DVD-Audio hitting the market, audiophiles will soon have more choices than ever for playing back music. But along with all of these options comes the hard part: choosing which path to take and hoping not to be dead-ended, as Beta video owners were years back. For consumers, the promised universal audio players (expected to play DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD, and SACD) will reduce the risk significantly.

Venture capital group Shared Ventures is now the legal owner of the assets of Wadia">http://www.wadia.com/">Wadia Digital Corporation. Wadia's majority shareholder, Shared Ventures, acquired the company's name, intellectual property, and physical inventory at a public auction in Minneapolis on September 12. The law firm of Siegel, Brill, Greupner, Duffy, and Foster, P/A, of Minneapolis, managed the auction. Originally scheduled for late August, the auction was postponed for two weeks after a flurry of interest following the publication of an official notice in the Minneapolis">http://www.startribune.com/">Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Jonathan Scull writes that "with its latest series of FPB (Full Power Balanced) amplifiers, Krell is taking careful aim at the seam between classic high-power two-channel systems and quality multichannel installations where sound is yet paramount. Nevertheless, Krell founder Dan D'Agostino was adamant: Krell's Class A components were designed for music playback. 'I'm a purist, like you, Jonathan!' he told me." In his review of the Krell">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/266/">Krell Full Power Balanced 350mc monoblock amplifier, Scull determines whether or not Krell has struck its musical target.

Home Entertainment 2001 (formerly The HI-FI Show) is heading back to the heart of New York for the first time in five years. Described as "a unique hands-on event where attendees will see and hear the newest and the best in home audio and home theater," HE 2001 will take place May 11–13 at the Hilton New York.

An improved digital-audio compression standard has been adopted by the Bertelsmann">http://www.bmg.com/">Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and the Universal">http://www.umusic.com/">Universal Music Group for commercial music downloads. "Advanced Audio Coding" (AAC) is said to offer higher audio quality while occupying 30% less bandwidth and storage space than the popular MP3 format, according to an announcement from San Francisco–based Dolby">http://www.dolby.com/">Dolby Laboratories.