Renown sub manufacturer REL is being bought up by their US distribution company Sumiko. No details yet as far asI'm aware, but I would imagine the REL name and current raanges would remain unchanged.

Class D amplification is on the rise.
The main advantages seem to be smaller and more powerful amps that run at cooler temperatures, although I'll leave the technical data to Dev....
At the Hifi News show last September I heard the Class D Rotel RMB-1077 Class D 7 channel AV amp (£1600). It was hooked up to 7 meaty B&W speakers (the recent '8 series'(?)) in a large room. I'm not into surround sound AV setups myself, but the Rotel sounded impressive, driving that particular setup with surprising ease given the Rotel's small physical size.

3 recent stereo releases in the Class D arena are:
Rotel RB-1092 stereo power amp, £1600. Rated at 2x635W (yes that's six-hundred and thirty five Watts per channel).
Onkyo A9755 integrated stereo amp £699.95 for 150Wpc and the A9555 at £449.95 for less power.

The BFA (British Federation of Audio) is having a tantrum about MP3, expressing 'official concerns' about the poor quality of low res' music formats (e.g. the iPod). BFA states that the musical performance of iPods 128kb/s rate is inferior to "CD quality".

Ken Ishitawa at Marantz is wielding his soldeing iron again, this time over the new SA7001 SACD player. The basic model is £430, Ken's KI signature version is £600.

A couple of the Brit manufacturers are pusuring the growing, if slightly dubious from an audiophile point of view (? see recent hififorum threads on the subject), DAB market:
Musical Fidelity's A5 FM/DAB is added to their A5 range for £1499.
NAD's C445 joims the DAB posse for £350.

B&W have released their new CMI mini speakers at £499, while at a more aspirational end of the market Spendor add to their range with the floorstanding S9e (8ohms 90dB sensitivity), priced taggeed at £2895.

Beyond the aspirational, at the ludicrous end of the market is Zanden's 2000 Premium CD transport and 5000 signature DAC. Total cost £32450. Someone's having a laugh aren't they...?

DF