I've encountered a number of audio products over the years whose thoughtful design and intricate craftsmanship brought to mind the expression "built like a Swiss watch." As often as I'd thought or even written that phrase, however, I don't think I'd ever stopped to seriously consider what an audio component might be like if actually built by the nation that produces Rolex and Breitling wristwatches.
Over the past year or so, a parade of expensive loudspeakers has passed through my listening room (footnote 1), each claimed by its manufacturer to deliver the real musical deal. Like the people who designed them, these speakers have come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. While the designer of every one of these speakers has claimed "accuracy" and "transparency" as his goal, the truth is, <I>any</I> concoction of pulsing cones, ribbons, sheets of Mylar, or whatever that's bolted into or on top of a box makes music because it is a musical instrument. How could it be otherwise, when all of these accomplished and expensive loudspeakers have sounded very different from one another, and made me <I> feel</I> different while listening to them?
I don't know whether Sam Tellig or I first discovered the delights of some slightly idiosyncratic loudspeakers made by Triangle—<I>Tree-ON-gle</I>, if you add the relevant accent—in the northeastern corner of France. I do recall feeling quite relieved to find that I wasn't the only hi-fi writer who liked and wrote about them.
<A HREF="http://www.stereovox.com">Stereovox</A> has introduced a more affordable Studio series of cables to complement its extravagant Reference products. (John Marks raved about them <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/thefifthelement/742/index2.html">here</A>.) The new Studio HDSE (high-definition single-ended) interconnects are thin and flexible, but each cable is constructed from a single high-purity 0.008" thick copper <I>tube</I>, clad in a silver-plated copper woven shield, with pure tape-wrapped full-density PTFE Teflon dielectric and an FEP jacket. The Studio cables employ a new chrome-plated Xhadow™ Reference precision-machined RCA connector.
On March 10, <A HREF="http://www.tymphany.com ">Tymphany Corporation</A> and <A HREF="http://www.d-s-t.com">Danish Sound Technology</A> (DST) announced a merger of the two companies, funded by Vantage Point Venture Partners. The combined company, to be called Tymphany Corporation, will have its headquarters in Cupertino, CA.
As the cost of data storage has continued to plunge, some industry pundits (well, www.stereophile.com's Jon Iverson) have predicted that the next step in adding value to them would be to give the devices away, but sell the music or data they contain. On March 10, online music label <A HREF="http://www.magnatune.com">Magnatune</A> and Samsung spin-off <A HREF="http://www.hanamicron.com/">Hana Micron</A> fulfilled that prediction with a product called the TunePlug: It's a reusable USB flash memory drive that comes loaded with 10 complete albums from Magnatune artists in MP3 file format.
Will the future of audio distribution be dominated by discs or downloads? Will we always have both?
Multichannel audio has its share of fans and detractors. Often, a well-executed example of a new technology can be the most effective tool to attract new fans. Have you heard an impressive multichannel recording? If so, what is it?
<B>DAVE HOLLAND BIG BAND: <I>Overtime</I></B>