Stereophile recently got their hands on a pair of JL Audio Fathom f113 subwoofers for evaluiation.

The JL Audio home subwoofers entered the crowded subwoofer market like Godzilla rising out of the Sea of Japan and entering downtown Tokyo when they launched last year. Owners and reviewers alike have found favor with how well they perform for both music and home theater application. This time around, Stereophile is giving a pair of Fathom f113's a thorough shakedown for music perfomance.

Go take a look at their review of the JL Audio Fathom f113 if you're interested in a premium sub that excels at both music and home theater reproduction.

Initially I saw this and decided it wasn't worth putting up, but a few interesting comments were made at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference on Tuesday.

Disney CEO Bob Iger made the comment "We believe it's a no-brainer ... that the industry should be behind Blu-ray". Referring to the announcement made by Paramount and Dreamworks, Iger commented "I think those studios were likely taking easy money. We haven't taken any money because we believe it".

Fox head honcho Rupert Murdoch offered "Paramount switched out the other day. God knows why". Murdoch also summed up his feelings on the format war "The public is going to want Blu-ray. The public can tell the difference".

On the opposing side, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman remarked under the cloud of rumours that have director Steven Spielberg leaving Dreamworks next year when his contract expires "..the financial impact to Paramount first and especially to Viacom overall would be completely immaterial". The statement is noteworthy given that Mr. Dauman has a reputation for being very guarded when speaking publicly.

It appears that after the shockwave the Paramount decision sent, we aren't going to see any more major announcements until after the holiday shopping season. We'll see what the two formats are willing to do to advance their cause, and take amusement in comments like these from the two side's talking heads.

According to this thread on AVSForum, the Samsung BDP-1400 is the first Blu Ray or HD DVD player capable of sending compressed audio via bitstream over the HDMI connection.

Previously, all Blu Ray and HD DVD players would decode Dolby Digital+ and Dolby TrueHD and output them as LPCM via the HDMI connection. The only problem with this is that no player as yet decodes DTS-HD or the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio. For the new variants of DTS, Blu Ray and HD DVD players extract the core DTS track only. Now that AV receivers and pre/pros are beginning to appear that feature onboard decoding of these new codecs, Samsung is the first to offer users the option of sending uncompressed Dolby Digital+, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio to a receiver or pre/pro to decode.

The Samsung BDP-1400 Blu Ray player is available now, and has a suggested retail of $499.

Canadian loudspeaker maker Paradigm has announced three new models for their Reference Signature series of loudspeakers.

Paradigm describes the new additions as "compact, lifestyle speakers" with entirely new form factors. Shared with the rest of the Reference line, the new models will utilize Beryllium tweeters, which Paradigm states is lighter and stiffer than aluminum, without being brittle like some premium tweeter materials. Mid and mid bass drivers are a new cobalt-aluminum alloy, which offer better stiffness and damping than aluminum, according to Paradigm. Finally, Paradigm will continue to use mineral filled polypropylene for the larger bass drivers. Voice coils, magnets and chassis remain relatively unchanged from the last generation of Reference Signatures. T

The three models announced are the S1, a 2 way bookshelf starting at $1499/pair, the 3 way, 4 driver C1 center channel, starting at $1199 and the 3 way, 5 driver ADP1 surround staring at $1199/pair. Available in cherry, birdseye maple and piano black.

In an article posted today on Tech.co.uk, BDA chairman Frank Simonis implies that the HD DVD Promotional Group's recent announcement that 51 gigabyte triple layer discs are on the horizon is merely a publicity stunt.

Simonis is quoted as saying "...we believe they are very much in a reactive mood. Based on their format one would expect that a triple layer disc is three times a HD DVD single layer adding up to 45 GB. Now suddenly they change it to 51GB for promotional reasons." Wait a second Frank, who's in reactive mode? The current production specification for HD DVD is 15 gigabytes per layer, but 17 gigabyte layers were proposed by Toshiba back in January, and were just approved by the DVD Forum. Know your enemy. Frank goes on to cast doubt on Toshiba's ability to produce said discs and talks up Blu Ray a little.

HD DVD has taken the last two rounds of this fight, with the Paramount announcement and news of increased disc capacity. HD DVD is gaining momentum, while Blu Ray is still waiting on Fox and Disney to deliver the long-awaited uppercut.

The audiophile community enjoys an avid DIY contingent. The allure of the DIY loudspeaker is that for any given price point, with technical skill, proper loudspeaker design and testing, a loudspeaker of surpassing quality can be made for a fraction of what the equivalent commercial design would cost. A DIY'er can take pride in the sonic and visual fruits of their labors, and the knowledge that Joe Smith down the street doesn't have the same pair in his listening room.

DIY loudspeaker designs are especially prolific, and there are many online sources for speaker components, plans and kits. Commercial and freeware software is available to assist DIY'ers with enclosure and crossover design. One site I would like to point readers toward is Troels Gravesen's excellent page devoted to his loudspeaker designs. Troels obviously takes his projects quite seriously, as evidenced by the beauty of his enclosures and the premium drivers and crossover components he uses. Troels spends quite a bit of time ensuring that his crossovers are just right for the drivers and enclosures. His published plans are easy to follow, and aren't a bad read, even if you won't be building your own loudspeakers anytime soon.

Readers interested in learning more about DIY loudspeakers and DIY audio in general can head over to the forums at diyAudio.com and engage in conversation with the community of knowledgable, dedicated enthusiasts there.