Now there are four. The music industry's "Big Five" record labels officially became the "Big Four" on Thursday, August 5, as Sony Music Entertainment and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) finalized a merger months in the making. The partners are the music divisions of Sony Corporation and German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG, respectively.
Is there a future for high-resolution audio? Will the music industry survive as a packaged-goods business? The answer to both of these questions is "Yes, probably . . ." if the DualDisc follows test market indications and become next year's must-have entertainment format.
From 2000, Brian Damkroger checks out the seductive <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/1000oracle">Oracle CD player</A>, commenting, "I couldn't help but wonder if the Oracle's sonic performance would be as unique and spectacular as its looks."
Once again, audiophiles can help themselves and others at the same time by participating in The Cable Company's ninth annual "Summer Against Hunger" campaign. <A HREF="http://Usedcable.com/">The Cable Company</A> and a wide cross-section of its vendors (listed below) have set up a program by which up to 10% of The Cable Company's August sales are donated to <A HREF="http://www.careusa.org/">CARE</A> and the <A HREF="http://www.theirc.org/">International Rescue Committee</A>, with contributions to be used to assist the worldwide disaster relief efforts of those humanitarian organizations.
<A HREF="http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/">McIntosh Laboratory</A> unveiled for the press three new products that they will be showing at CEDIA next month. They are the MX135 A/V Control Center (already shipping), the MVP861 Universal Player, and the MC207 7-channel Power Amplifier, all with McIntosh's signature design and cosmetics.
With the advent of home theater and Internet audio, doomsayers claim that high-end audio's days are numbered. But new high-end audio companies seem to appear at a rapid clip, and vinyl continues to thrive. So is high-end audio gasping for breath or breathing easy?
Many observers claim that high-end audio is an older person's passion, and that the youth of today are too enamored with third-rate MP3 sound and convenience. How can young listeners be brought into the high-end audio fold?
Until recently, all problems in digital audio systems were blamed on either the analog/digital converters (ADCs) used in mastering or the digital/analog converters (DACs) needed for playback (footnote 1). As the performance of both ADCs and DACs improved, however, a previously unrecognized mechanism for distortion was unmasked: jitter. As we shall see, jitter—or, more correctly, word-clock jitter—can be a significant limitation in the technical and sonic performance of digital audio systems (footnote 2).
Recently, we've seen the digital "horsepower" race accelerate with the arrival of digital sources and devices with 24-bit and 96kHz sampling capability. Much of this has been spurred by the 24/96 labels emblazoned on the newer DVD players—and, within the purer confines of the audio community, by high-end DACs with this same ability. Indeed, it's possible that the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/259">dCS Elgar</A> DAC, near and dear to John Atkinson's heart and a perennial Class A selection in <I>Stereophile</I>'s "Recommended Components," performs so well with standard 16-bit/44.1kHz sources because its wider digital bandwidth permits greater linearity within the more restricted range of regular CDs.
Recently, we've seen the digital "horsepower" race accelerate with the arrival of digital sources and devices with 24-bit and 96kHz sampling capability. Much of this has been spurred by the 24/96 labels emblazoned on the newer DVD players—and, within the purer confines of the audio community, by high-end DACs with this same ability. Indeed, it's possible that the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/259">dCS Elgar</A> DAC, near and dear to John Atkinson's heart and a perennial Class A selection in <I>Stereophile</I>'s "Recommended Components," performs so well with standard 16-bit/44.1kHz sources because its wider digital bandwidth permits greater linearity within the more restricted range of regular CDs.