Thomas J. Norton

<I>Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi, Tyrese Gibson, Miranda Otto, Hugh Laurie. Directed by John Moore. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). 113 minutes. 2004. Dolby Digital 5.1 and 5.1 DTS (English), Dolby Surround (French). 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. PG-13. $29.98.</I>

Focal-JMlab has been manufacturing speaker drivers and systems from its home base in Saint-Etienne, France, since 1980. They first became known to audiophiles in the US for their range of Focal drive units, particularly their inverted-dome tweeters. The latter were used by a number of makers of speaker systems. One of them, Wilson Audio Specialties, has likely been Focal's most loyal customer over the years, having used various Focal drivers in most of its models since the original Wilson Audio Tiny Tot, aka the WATT, was produced in the mid-1980s.

<I>Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nigel Havers, Cheryl Campbell, Alice Krige. Directed by Hugh Hudson. Aspect ratio: 1.85:1(anamorphic). 124 minutes. 1981. Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Digital mono (French). Warner Brothers 31908. PG. $26.99.</I>

Lawrence, Kansas, about an hour's drive west of Kansas City, is an unlikely spot to start a loudspeaker company. But it's the home of Kansas University, and in 1979, former KU students Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland (now you know the origin of the MartinLogan name) teamed up to design and build electrostatic speakers.