While recording the <I>Encore</I> CD for <I>Stereophile</I>, John Atkinson had to decide: "Should I add some artificial reverberation?" After much gnashing of teeth, he plowed ahead. Read about the process in "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//features/129/">Encore</A>," an in-depth look at the recording techniques, the artists, and the music.
The <A HREF="http://www.dvdforum.org/">DVD Forum</A> announced July 28 that it will start verification services for products based on the DVD-Audio format (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10379/">previous article</A>) at some of its authorized DVD Format Verification Laboratories starting September 1999. According to the Forum, format verification is conducted to establish the conformity of DVD products with DVD formats created by the DVD Forum, and allows manufacturers of successfully tested products to use DVD logos as proof of conformity.
Pauline Oliveros calls it "deep listening"—a way to pay attention to the sensual qualities of sound itself. Welcome to a world of music that defies categorization, that invites a listener to soak slowly into a deep and otherworldly zone. This music goes by many names: ambient, spacemusic, electronica, sacred music, tribal/trance. Alas, you'll often find it hiding in the New Age section. Unlike some fluffier New Age fare, good ambient albums can explore the deeper, more solitary spaces. At its best, ambient music can sensitize you to sound in unique ways. It can enlarge your listening space to cavernous dimensions, paint hallucinogenic sonic landscapes, summon primordial forces, or enshroud you in clouds of diffuse vapor.
<B>MOZART: <I>Così fan tutte</I></B><BR> Véronique Gens, Fiordiligi; Bernarda Fink, Dorabella; Werner Güra, Ferrando; Marcel Boone, Guglielmo; Pietro Spagnoli; Graciela Oddone, Despina; Kölner Kammerchor, Concerto Köln, René Jacobs<BR> Harmonia Mundi 951663.65 (3 CDs). 1999. Barbara Valentin, artistic dir.; Mark Hohn, eng. DDD. TT: 3:21:09<BR> Performance <B>*****</B><BR> Sonics *****</B>
It was the road signs alongside I-44 that first caught my attention, each with its twin supports neatly snapped halfway up. Then I saw the outlet center east of Oklahoma City, smashed flat as if struck by the mother of all baseball bats swung by a careless god.
Audiophile labels spend a good deal of effort trying to improve the transfer of music from the master tape to CD, DVD, or LP. Is this important to you?
The Secure Digital Music Initiative (<A HREF="http://sdmi.org/">SDMI</A>) appears to be the antidote to many a record executive's worst audio poison: legions of young music fans downloading digital audio files off the Internet and passing them around with no regard to copyright restrictions. But what might be the answer to some companies' prayers could prove to be the Big Brother nightmare feared by others.
While decidedly "niche products," as Martin Colloms describes them, single-ended (SE) tube amplifiers have still found a happy home in many audiophile systems. But a trap awaits those who wish to evaluate the differences between an SE and a solid-state or push-pull tube amplifier, or between two SE amps. In "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//features/127/">The Unseen Variable</A>," Colloms digs to the bottom of this complicated matter.
Yet another major music company has joined the digital downloading stampede, in the wake of the Secure Digital Music Initiative's (<A HREF="http://www.sdmi.org/">SDMI</A>) recent progress toward formulating copyright standards. On July 19, <A HREF="http://www.unimusic.com/">Universal Music Group</A> announced its intention to make its titles available for downloading to the coming generation of portable audio players. New devices from Diamond Multimedia, Toshiba, and Panasonic—all expected to hit the market by the winter holiday season—will play encrypted tunes from Universal and other big labels.