There is one date I dread every year: my wife's birthday. After nearly 16 years of marriage, I have exhausted every last iota of my spousal resources in trying to think of a suitable present. Nothing too ordinary, nothing too <I>out</I> of the ordinary, nothing that will trigger those dreaded words, "You <I>did</I> keep the receipt, right?"
Poll after poll reveals that readers think that high CD prices solidly outpace even the mediocrity of the music offerings as the number-one symptom of what is wrong with the music business. Now that Universal is lowering the price on some of its CDs, do you think you'll buy more of its discs?
Anthony H. Cordesman and John Atkinson tackle the classic <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/914/">Vandersteen 2C loudspeaker</A> in a review from 1986. "Whenever I think of cone speaker systems, I think of three brand names: Snell, Thiel, and Vandersteen," says Cordesman, prompting JA to add, "I must say that I just don't understand how Richard Vandersteen can sell the 2Ci at a hair under $1200/pair and expect to make any money."
Embattled audio brand <A HREF="http://www.tagmclarenaudio.com">TAG McLaren Audio</A> is showing more signs of life since <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11701/">hitting the ropes</A> earlier this summer. After completing "a full strategic review of its participation in the audio market," the company had <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11718/">announced</A> a re-focused effort to continue.
What can save the music industry? We've asked <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/showvote.cgi?241">the question</A> on this website a dozen times in several different ways and your responses are pretty much always the same: lower CD prices—closely followed by better music.
The <A HREF="http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America</A> (RIAA) may issue a general amnesty to the music fans who have amassed libraries of favorite tunes by downloading them over the Internet, according to information leaked to <I>Billboard</I>, the <I>Hollywood Reporter</I>, and other publications the first week of September.
If the new satellite radio products are any indication, the format has a bright future. During the first week of September, Kenwood and Antex Electronics announced new <A HREF="http://www.sirius.com">Sirius</A> satellite receivers, and XM Radio has already dropped the price on its recently introduced "XM PCR," a controller that lets you listen to XM via your computer.
Rumors persist that CD-Rs can degrade quickly under some conditions. Have you had any problems with discs you have recorded?
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) may spend the rest of its associated life in litigation—as either as the initiator or the recipient of actions intended to determine who can use its products, under which circumstances they can do so, and how much they should pay, assuming they are allowed to use them.
Late summer isn't typically a time when new audio products appear, but on August 29 we received two noteworthy announcements.