Listening #8
<I>Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor trees...</I>—Revelation 7:3
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Show Business
Perhaps it's the air in San Francisco, or more likely the fact that exhibitors and attendees were equally upbeat, but I came back from <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11672/">Home Entertainment 2003</A>, held at the grand old Westin-St. Francis Hotel days before I write this month's column, <I>jazzed</I>. I was one of 15,123 consumer, international press, and trade attendees, according to the official stats, and we were treated to more than 100 exhibit rooms showing and demonstrating 225 brands of audio and home-theater gear. <I>Stereophile</I>'s full report on what we saw and heard at the Show will appear in our September and October issues, while our web coverage can be found starting <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11662/">here</A>(footnote 1).
Multichannel Art?
SACD and DVD-Audio have brought multichannel music back into the mix for many audiophiles. However, without an official digital connection standard in place, consumers must contend with multiple cables and then find a preamp designed to manage the analog signals and send them to various amplifiers.
Added to the Archives This Week
The marque may be gone, but <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/897/">Proceed's PAV audio/video preamplifier</A> is not forgotten. In 1994, Thomas J. Norton examined the breakthrough the PAV represented, stating, "It was inevitable that traditional high-end audio manufacturers would begin producing equipment for the fast-growing home-theater market."
Audio Research's Model T
Audio Research Corporation is often considered one of the greybeards of the hi-fi business, having begun its audiophile life way back in 1970. Even so, the company, often noted for its tube equipment, is proving that it can still make a run at the cutting edge of amplifier design.
Satellite Radio News
Satellite radio services <A HREF="http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius</A> and <A HREF="http://www.xmradio.com">XM</A> both appear headed for a healthy future. The companies both report robust growth in new subscribers. Sweetheart deals with automakers and car rental agencies will expose ever-increasing numbers of consumers to the benefits of commercial-free music.
Japanese Financial Roundup
Major Japanese electronics manufacturers reported mixed results for the quarter ended June 30, with Mitsubishi and Sharp posting sales gains, while Hitachi and JVC did not. Most electronics firms begin their fiscal year on April 1, making June 30 the end of the first quarter.
If you could get high-resolution audio (format of your choice) any way you'd like, which delivery system would you prefer and why?
Let's assume that we live in a future with no bandwidth limitations or storage issues: Would you still want to collect discs, or would a service or physical disc full of choices be better? If you could get high-resolution audio (format of your choice) via download, disc, broadcast, or something else, which would you prefer?
What is your rarest or most valuable recording?
Most audiophiles buy music for the sheer pleasure of hearing it reproduced in all its glory on their systems. However, all musical or sonic attributes aside, what is the rarest or most valuable recording you have in your collection?
New Audio Formats Said To Be Up
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is reporting that sales of DVD-Video players also capable of playing high-resolution audio formats have taken off this year, compared to 2002. According to CEA market research, manufacturers shipped 148,000 DVD-A and 100,000 SACD players to retailers through May of this year.