What is the crown jewel in your music collection?
Is there a single CD or LP that holds significant value for you? Is it an old ratty copy of your first record ever bought, or a pricey, collectible piece of vinyl?
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John Wright, 1939-1999
John Wright was one of the most important figures on the British hi-fi scene since the mid-1960s. His natural modesty and reticence made it easy to underestimate a working life that encompassed an unusually wide range of different roles: from inventor to speaker engineer to reviewer to businessman.
Steve Portocarrero, 1956-1999
Steve Portocarrero passed away Monday, June 7 from Lou Gehrig's Disease, or ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which he was diagnosed with two years ago.
Added to the Archives This Week
Writer Robert Deutsch takes an in-depth look at the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/118/">Hales Design Group Revelation Three loudspeaker</A> in an attempt to determine whether the product lives up to its name. He also checks into the manufacturer's claim that "what we made will forever change the world of dynamic loudspeakers . . . an instant classic, a benchmark against which others of its type are measured."
The End of "Out of Print"?
Last Thursday, <A HREF="http://www.virgin.com/">Virgin Entertainment Group</A> announced an agreement with <A HREF="http://www.reddotnet.com/">RedDotNet</A>, a Digital on Demand company, that Virgin says will allow its customers to download music and create custom CDs, DVDs, and MiniDiscs in-store. Virgin describes the deal as "a revolutionary development heralding a new wave of music retailing." As part of the agreement, Virgin will become a shareholder in Digital on Demand, RedDotNet's parent company.
EMI Signs Sweetheart Deal with Musicmaker.com
The world's third largest music company has thrown its massive weight behind Internet audio. On June 10, EMI Recorded Music, a division of <A HREF="http://www.emigroup.com/">EMI Group Plc</A>, announced a five-year licensing agreement with Reston, Virginia-based <A HREF="http://www.musicmaker.com/">Musicmaker.com</A>, a major custom CD compilation service and digital download site. EMI has not simply made its enormous catalog available to the service---it has also bought into Musicmaker.com with a 50% equity stake.
Bang & Olufsen Hits the Road
Danish audio-video manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.bang-olufsen.com/">Bang & Olufsen</A> has long been known for its unusual product designs. Eschewing the normal tendency of consumer electronics manufacturers to design their circuits and transports into stackable black boxes, the company's current home-audio line includes colorful vertical CD stacks with sliding clear-glass doors and brushed-aluminum cylindrical speakers.
Where do you buy most of your new music?
The responses to last week's poll triggered interest in this week's question from many readers.
Bringing Music Bits to Radios Everywhere
In another milestone for digital broadcasting, <A HREF="http://www.lucent.com.ldr">Lucent Digital Radio</A> announced last week that it has successfully tested its In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) system, live and over the air, with National Public Radio (NPR) member station WBJB-FM of Lincroft, New Jersey. According to Lucent, the tests showed that there was no degradation of the host FM analog channel during the transmission of the digital FM signal over the same band.
AOL Jumps into Net Music with $400 Million Acquisition
Better late than never. <A HREF="http://www.aol.com/">America Online</A> has finally leaped into the Internet music business with its recent purchase of San Francisco-based <A HREF="http://www.spinner.com/">Spinner Networks</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.nullsoft.com/">Nullsoft</A> of Sedona, Arizona. The combined deals, which were announced on June 1, cost AOL $400 million in company stock.