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Is the consumer electronics business swimming, sinking, or simply treading water? It all depends on who's talking. Retailers don't appear to be suffering, despite widespread staffing cutbacks by large companies, but the gains are coming more slowly than they did last year.

Sam Tellig may apologize for contributing to the audiophile empty wallet syndrome, but that doesn't stop him from ranking the Monarchy">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/339/">Monarchy Audio Digital Interface Processor 24/96 "a must-have if you want to get the most from your upsampling MSB Link DAC III."

During the past year, hardly a day has gone by without headlines announcing the latest twist in the fate of embattled free music service Napster.comhttp://www.napster.com">Napster.com;. Lost in the hysteria was Napster's tiny rival Emusic.comhttp://www.emusic.com/">Emusic.com;, a three-year-old online music venture that always charged its subscribers for downloading tunes, and always paid the copyright holders. For news appeal, Emusic's paltry 10,000 subscribers and languishing stock price didn't compare to Napster's reported 75 million users and major league court battles.

To balance or not to balance? That is the audio question that Martin Colloms sets out to answer in Balance:">http://www.stereophile.com//features/335/">Balance: Benefit or Bluff? Although balanced capability is a fashionable feature in many expensive audio products, Colloms writes that "the High End could be paying dangerous, costly lip service to the received wisdom that balanced operation is the goal for an audio system."

Consumers attending the Home Entertainment 2001 Show in NYC, May 11–13, 2001, will have a unique opportunity to speak with and learn from the home entertainment industry's leading experts. As part of the three-day audio and video extravaganza, the Show will offer educational seminars and panel discussions—included with the admission ticket price on a first come, first served basis. This is a rare opportunity for consumers to meet with legendary industry journalists, manufacturers, dealers, and others.

John Atkinson finds that the Dynaudio">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/333/">Dynaudio Contour 1.3 Mk.II loudspeaker—a completely overhauled iteration of the original Contour 1.3 Mk.I, released several years back—reveals details in recordings that most speakers smooth right over. JA reveals other details about the Contour in his review, complete with comments on the Contour 1.3 Special Edition from Sam Tellig.

New York City, one of the world's most diverse and eclectic cities, will play host to an outstanding group of musicians, who will perform live at the Home Entertainment 2001 Show, May 11-13, 2001 at the Hilton New York & Towers.