Hanging above the expensive desk in my penthouse office atop Manhattan's prestigious <I>Stereophile</I> Tower is a photocopy of a <I>New Yorker</I> cartoon, in which a bewildered-looking guy complains, "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about."
Considering that not that long ago there wasn't even a product category for balanced AC line conditioners, we seem to now enjoy a plethora of the critters. Cinepro offers the PowerPRO 20 (reviewed in <I>Stereophile</I>, November 1998, Vol.21 No.11). And Equi=Tech, which caters more toward the pro end of the field, offers one that I have yet to hear. Now Audio Power Industries weighs in with their own approach to the genre.
Computers are increasingly finding their way into music systems, but how do you feel about it? Should <I>Stereophile</I> spend more time looking at this option in its pages?
Yesterday, we talked with Microsoft about the high-resolution audio capabilities of Windows Media. Today, we met with one of their key competitors, Real, who also promised that, as the market matures, we will be seeing more options for audiophiles.
The format battle over what goes into your audio player's disc drawer could soon be rendered moot. Forget SACD and DVD-Audio: it's the format war taking place on your desktop that may determine the real future of audio. And, believe it or not, audiophiles might win, too.
The show started slowly at the Alexis Park Hotel, since many exhibitors were still setting up and tuning systems as the gates opened at 10am. We ducked into the Gryphon room and discovered the company's new flagship speaker making its first public appearance. Called the "Project 30" until a more formal name is selected, the imposing four-way system consists of two mid/high-range towers and two powered woofer towers. Each woofer tower sports a built-in 600W amplifier and is reported to reach down to 16Hz. The system is claimed to have a 94dB efficiency rating and will be available before the summer at a projected price of around $120,000 in the US.
Although the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) officially runs from Thursday, January 8 through Sunday, January 11, the day before the show has traditionally been reserved for press conferences by the major electronics companies. In recent years, audio news has been overshadowed by home-theater and video announcements, since that is where the big boys have decided the mass market has gone. This year was no different, but that's not to say there was <I>no</I> audio news.
As Paul Messenger states in his 2000 review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/analogsourcereviews/200linn">Linn Arkiv B phono cartridge</A>, "This <I>Stereophile</I> review is long overdue. Furthermore, this review addresses a complaint often directed against reviews and reviewers: that we rarely spend enough time with a component to gain a properly balanced, long-term perspective."
Is the music industry in the early stages of a turnaround? Sales of recorded music in the US declined by less than 1% in 2003, according to figures released December 31 by Nielsen SoundScan.