At the end of July, UK-based TAG McLaren Audio, which had been experiencing difficult trading conditions and was reducing its workforce, issued a rather pessimistic <A HREF=” http://www.stereophile.com/shownews.cgi?1701”>announcement</A>. The core of the announcement concerned the firm's commencement of "a full strategic review of its participation in the audio market."
All high-end audio companies turn over their product lines periodically. Even those amplifiers I have depended on as references go out of production. Although my reference amplifier can remain a part of the reviewing sequence, readers won't be able to purchase a discontinued model and get the results I describe. Thus I am compelled to get a review sample of a new amplifier or speaker, and hope for the best.
While audio writers find the siren song of cost-no-object components an ever-present temptation, I do ask <I>Stereophile</I>'s reviewers to be on the lookout for affordable products that sound better than they have any right to. So when I listened to an inexpensive system based on Monitor Audio's Silver S2 loudspeaker and Musical Fidelity amplification at Home Entertainment 2002, held at the Manhattan Hilton in May 2002, I followed my own instruction and asked the US distributor of this English model to send me review samples.
Ever since the introduction of high-resolution digital formats, audiophiles have been waiting for the smoke from the format wars to settle. What would the winning software be? DVD-Audio? DVD-Video? SACD? 24 bits at 96kHz or 192kHz? As new formats struggled to establish themselves, upconverting technology became commonplace for the playback of the familiar 16-bit/44.1kHz "Red Book" CD format. What to do? Invest large amounts of cash in a system that played "Red Book" (maybe with upconverting, but if so, by how much?) and one other format, and hope that you've bet right? And what about movies on them new-fangled DVDs, Tex?
The RIAA has been very aggressive in going after audio downloaders that it says are violating copyright laws. Do you agree with its tactics?
An archive of articles that the late Michael Gerzon wrote for <I>Hi-Fi News</I> and <I>Studio Sound</I> magazines has been established at the <A HREF="http://www.audiosignal.co.uk">website</A> of <I>Hi-Fi News</I> consultant technical editor Keith Howard.
Vinyl junkies again converged on San Luis Obispo, California on Saturday, August 16 for the second annual <A HREF="http://www.vinylrecordday.org">Vinyl Record Day</A> celebration. Vinyl is clearly red hot among audiophiles and music collectors, and VRD organizer Gary Freiberg commented that momentum for the event continues to grow, with this year's turnout easily bigger than <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11417/">last year's</A>.
Internet service providers (ISPs) have begun fighting back against the blitzkrieg of lawsuits launched by the <A HREF="http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America</A> (RIAA) in its struggle to contain the file-sharing phenomenon.
From the August issue, Robert Deutsch gives the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/901/">Audio Research VS110 power amplifier and SP16L line preamplifier</A> the full treatment. RD reveals how he finds products to review, and more importantly, what he found appealing in the ARC amp and preamp.
August is shaping up as a great month for audiophiles and good causes. The Cable Company's annual "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11704/">Summer Against Hunger</A>" campaign is in full swing, and <A HREF="http://www.rockfordcorp.com">Rockford Home Group</A> has announced that the first production unit of the 50 limited-edition FAP V1 vacuum-tube surround processors (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11711/">previous</A>) will be auctioned via eBay with proceeds donated to charity.