How much should CDs cost at retail?
A clear majority of the readers who answered last week's poll think high prices have slowed down CD sales. So what price point feels right to you?
LATEST ADDITIONS
Continue Reading »
Copy Protection: The Next Level
During copyright protection hearings in Washington the last week of February, South Carolina Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings labored mightily to please patrons Michael Eisner, CEO of Walt Disney Company, and Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA). Hollings' questioning of panelists from concerned industries was generally even-handed, according to several reports, except for his treatment of Intel executive vice president Leslie Vadasz, whose opposition to government-mandated copy control provoked an especially vindictive outpouring of vitriol from the 80-year-old Senator.
Added to the Archives This Week
John Atkinson gets high with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/530/">HeadRoom Supreme headphone amplifier</A> and reports on the results. "The quest to make the headphone listening experience more equivalent to normal speaker listening is not new," writes JA. Has the Supreme made the cut?
Goodbye Radio?
According to a recent report from <A HREF="http://www.arbitron.com">Arbitron</A> and <A HREF="http://www.edisonresearch.com">Edison Media Research</A> (EMR), approximately nine million consumers who have ever listened to Internet audio said they would be willing to pay a small fee to listen to the one audio channel they listen to most online.
The Mobile Audiophile
If you find yourself spending more time in a car seat than in your audio system's sweet spot each day, the trend pairing high-end audio companies with car manufacturers may offer a little relief. Lexus made a big splash last year by incorporating Mark Levinson technology into its latest cars, joining collaborations between Dynaudio and Volvo among others.
Denon and Marantz to combine operations
A year ago, Marantz gained full command over its own operations when Philips reduced its participation in the company from 50.5% to 49% by selling 1.5% of the shares to Marantz Japan Inc. (MJI).
Autosound Frontier: DVD-A
Perhaps even more than the typical living room, the automobile might be considered multichannel audio's natural environment.
What do you think is the primary cause for the music industry's sales slump?
The sales slump currently bedeviling the record industry has been blamed on everything from 9/11 to bad music to CD pirates and MP3 file-swapping. What do you think is going on?
Two-Speaker Surround Sound?
An intriguing loudspeaker technology which generates believable surround effects from only two small enclosures will be arriving at stores later this year, according to a February 24 announcement from <A HREF="http://216.87.12.168/enf/nirotek/niroson.html">Nirotek America Corporation</A>.
Added to the Archives This Week
Michael Fremer says he has heard many phono preamps in his career as vinyl's pre-eminent advocate, but a few do stand out. MF lived with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//analogsourcereviews/525/">Conrad-Johnson Premier 15 phono preamplifier</A> for several months to see if it would be one of the medalists. Jonathan Scull also adds some thoughts on the Series 2 version.