Music Kiosks Announced
In the age of iTunes and Amazon.com, do brick and mortar music retailers have a future? Perhaps—if they downsize a bit.
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A Music Lover Remembered
Chris Keeler was the first guy I ever knew with an exotic turntable and a record library that most radio stations would envy. The love of music was a driving force throughout his life, one that sustained him right to the end.
What was the most significant audio issue or event of 2004?
Low-rez formats, high-rez formats, media servers, satellite radio, more vinyl, iTunes, <I>etc</I>. What do you think was the most important audio issue or event last year?
Music in the Round #9
With the new power and furniture arrangements in my multichannel room, I've begun to reexamine all the other things that affect system performance, including power conditioning and signal cables. However, I could not get my wife to accept the presence in that room of an <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/musicintheround/904music/index1.html">ASC Sub Trap</A>, which lifted my <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/955">Paradigm Servo-15</A> subwoofer to eye level. Not that I protested the Trap's departure all that much—at that height, Trap and sub partly blocked direct radiation from my rear left speaker. But I felt its absence immediately, as my system returned to the usual somewhat boomy, overly punchy bass. The ASC left me with the determination to deal with room problems, particularly in the bass.
NHT 3.3 loudspeaker
When <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/232">Ken Kantor</A> helped to found Now Hear This, Inc. (most commonly referred to by its initials, NHT) in 1986, he brought with him a wealth of design and production experience learned from stints with NAD and Acoustic Research. He also brought a desire to build and market products that a wide range of people could afford. NHT began by producing small, two-way designs distinguished by the angled front baffle which remains the company's trademark. The latter is no gimmick, but was designed to optimize the loudspeakers' radiation pattern, a matter of keen interest to Kantor ever since his undergraduate thesis work at MIT. This interest continued at AR, where he was responsible for the MGC-1 loudspeaker—probably his best known pre-NHT loudspeaker design.
California Audio Labs Sigma II D/A converter
<B>HistoriCAL Introduction</B>
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California Audio Labs is a child of the digital age. Originally, they made a noise by offering <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/654">modified CD players with tube output stages</A>, a practice for which I found no intellectual justification. On the other hand, the results were successful, even if (probably) due to the CAL units' softening of the harshness of early digital sound.
Jim Fosgate: Of (Surround) Sound Mind
Jim Fosgate fits the category of Classic American Inventor to a T. This softspoken, quietly intense man has earned 18 patents and founded three successful electronics companies. In the late 1970s, he pulled out of the car audio business to follow his quadraphonic bliss, and designed the Fosgate Tate 101, arguably the finest quad decoder of the era. He also created the best-selling matrix surround processor of all time, Dolby's Pro Logic II, and in 2003 won an Emmy for the Development of Surround Sound for Television. He now serves as a senior executive consultant for Fosgate Audionics, a division of the Rockford Corporation.
Frederick Fennell, 1914–2004
Audiophiles everywhere were saddened to learn of the death of Frederick Fennell on December 7. He was 90, which made him only a few years senior to the process of electrical recording—an art form in which he made quite an impact.
China Cracking Down on Piracy?
In a decision delivered in late December, China's top court has elevated intellectual property theft from misdemeanor status to felony. The move may be a sea change for the giant Asian nation, where piracy has long been a way of life.
Meridian on DualDisc
<A HREF="http://www.meridian.co.uk">Meridian Audio Ltd.</A> is the latest electronics maker to weigh in on the continuing DualDisc controversy.