The future is still bright for satellite radio. On December 8, XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. announced that it had signed a deal with Toyota Motor Corporation to begin factory-level installation of XM receivers in 2006. The most popular brand of automobile in the world, Toyota is the last large automaker to commit to either XM or its competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio.
Reader Tom Sanchez says he loves ambient music and wonders how many <I>Stereophile</I> readers share his passion?
<B>BRIAN WILSON: <I>SMiLE</I></B><BR>
Nonesuch 79846-2 (CD). 2004. Brian Wilson, prod., mix; Mark Linett, eng.; Kevin Deane, Daneil S. McCoy, Pete Magdaleno, asst. engs.; Darian Sahanaja, mix. AAD? TT: 47:01<BR>
Performance <B>****½</B><BR>
Sonics <B>****</B> (footnote 1)<BR>
In early 2000, the British magazine <I>The Economist</I> published a lead editorial addressing America Online's acquisition of media giant Time Warner. In the editors' view, TW was a clunky, old-style media company that needed a fresh injection of dot-com blood to help them reach a more narrowly targeted audience. "Sex, shopping and violence," the editors wrote, echoing Internet visionary George Gilder, "...are what people have in common. What differentiates them is their enthusiasm for folk music, tropical fish, or Viennese waltzes."
It didn't seem like such a big deal. After all, when designer Kevin Voecks added a passive radiator to the bottom of Revel Loudspeakers' powerful <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/90">Ultima Sub 15</A> subwoofer, no one expected that the resulting 6dB increase in bass output below 35Hz would be so audible. However, Revel's sophisticated double-blind listening tests (described in my review of their flagship <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/96">Ultima Salon</A> full-range loudspeaker in the March 1999 <I>Stereophile</I>, revealed that a big change had occurred. With now twice the radiating surface, the modified Sub 15 produced significantly deeper, more powerful bass.
All but forgotten in the field of surround sound are the efforts of UK classical music label <A HREF="http://www.wyastone.co.uk">Nimbus Records</A>. More than 25 years ago, Nimbus recorded with Peter Fellgett and Michael Gerzon's two-channel–compatible, matrixed UHJ Ambisonic Surround system, using multi-capsule Calrec Soundfield microphones. Other labels, including Unicorn-Kanchana, also supported Ambisonic, releasing such rarities as a UHJ Ambisonic recording of the soundtrack to <I>North By Northwest</I> on LP. Playback decoders were available from the UK's National Research and Development Council (NRDC) and speaker manufacturer IMF. As timing would have it, the Ambisonic releases appeared when users could still recall the unfortunate experience of 1970s quadraphony, and Dolby Digital was still some years off. However, those who have heard proper demonstrations maintain that the UHJ Ambisonic technique remains the most convincing surround-sound format ever.
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With its new Walkman music player, Sony has broken with its tradition of promoting its own proprietary formats. The NW-HD3 will let users import and export tracks in the MP3 format, a concession to the format's near-universal popularity and an admission of the failed appeal of Atrac, Sony's own music-playing software. MP3 compatibility should give the player appeal to a wider audience than a Sony-only machine.
Concord and Fantasy: Berkeley, CA–based Fantasy Records has been sold to Concord Records of Beverly Hills in a deal valued at $83 million, according to a December 4 report from <I>Billboard</I>. The music enterprise of film producer Saul Zaentz and partners, Fantasy is well known for its huge catalog of works by jazz greats Count Basie, John Coltrane, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Joe Pass, Oscar Peterson, and Sarah Vaughan, as well as soul and blues stars the Dramatics, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, the Staple Singers, and Johnnie Taylor.