Whether listeners like it or not, record labels, including major players like BMG and Arista Records, are <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11734/">now making moves</A> to rein in how their CDs are played and used. Unfettered CDs have been on the shelves for almost two decades, and some industry observers note that changing how they work at this late stage could be a recipe for trouble with consumers.
Digital formats come and go, but quite a few audiophiles still have a vinyl record player in their system. Do you?
On 28 July 2003, TAG McLaren Audio <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11701/">issued a statement</A> saying that it had ceased the development of new products and was undertaking a full strategic review of its participation in the audio market.
GamuT Audio has been acquired by Danish investment firm Rossing Nielsen Electronics A/S, according to an announcement released September 22. Under the new ownership, the number of GamuT products will be reduced to "provide shorter lead times and to make the brand more competitive," according to company principle <A HREF="http://mailto:gamut@mail.dk">Poul Rossing</A>.
Kalman Rubinson looks past the odd knobs to discover what's at the heart of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/929/">Blue Circle BC21 preamplifier & BC22 power amplifier</A>. KR reveals, "In the past, I've found components with small drawbacks that made them unacceptable, but the Blue Circle BC21 and BC22 triumphed over their flaws."
Sirius Satellite Radio is concerned about The Bottom Line. Not the company's profitability, but the venerable Greenwich Village music cabaret, which has suffered since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
For <I>Deep River</I>, his third recording of Minnesotan male-voice choir <A HREF="http://www.cantusonline.org">Cantus</A>, <I>Stereophile</I> editor John Atkinson traveled to Sioux Falls, SD, where the city has spent millions of dollars to transform the downtown high school into a gloriously warm-sounding, state-of-the-art performing arts center.
Let's start with some music—three discs I recently have been using to evaluate equipment as well as listen to for enjoyment. They are as contrasting in style as one could hope for, but all on an enviably high musical plane. (Space considerations compel brevity approaching that necessary to sell screenplays to producers at cocktail parties, footnote 1)
One of the biggest challenges in setting up any new listening room is getting the room to work with your equipment rather than against it. I faced this challenge in spades when Trish and I moved into our dream house in the California hills. What would serve as my listening room was a wonderful, open space with panoramic views of the surrounding hills—a space that bore no resemblance at all to a traditional, rectangular, dedicated listening room. Instead, there was a wall of glass, a huge marble-and-glass fireplace, a 20' ceiling—and did I mention that it isn't actually a "room," but one arm of a continuous flowing space?