I was happily learning more than I ever thought I'd want to know about sushi, when it occurred to me to check out the article's byline. Who on earth writes 10 pages about shopping for fish in Tokyo's Tsukiji market? Oh, Nick Tosches, that's who.
It's not often that you get a chance to have extensive discussions with the horse's mouth, but we recently had that opportunity. Since July of this year there has been extensive discussion in the audio community, particularly the high-end segment, of Larry Greenhill's <A HREF="http://bruce.coppola.name/audio/Greenhill.pdf">article on speaker cable listening tests</A> in the August, 1983 issue of <I>Stereo Review</I> (footnote 1). From recent talks with author Greenhill we've learned that the most interesting story was <I>not</I> in <I>Stereo Review</I>; instead it can be found in the varying reactions from different quarters, and what they say about the high-end industry in general.
<I>McIntosh: "...for the love of music..."</I><BR>by Ken Kessler. McIntosh Laboratory, Inc., 2006. $150.00. Hardcover, 12" by 12" by 1.25", 315 pp. ISBN 0-9787236-0-0.<BR>Available from McIntosh dealers and <A HREF="http://www.mcintoshlabs.com">McIntosh Laboratory</A>, Inc., 2 Chambers Street, Binghamton, NY 13903. Tel: (800) 538-6576.
Many pundits in our industry say that CD is under threat from <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/164">Super Audio CD</A>, <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/270">DVD-Audio</A>, and dual-layer CD/DVD technologies. Conflicting stories abound, and even though I'm supposed to be well-informed, I've found some of them hard to sort out! For example, Michael Fremer, concluding a fine review of the $7500 Bow Technologies ZZ-Eight integrated CD player in August, compared its notable 16-bit/44.1kHz achievement with a DVD-based disc originally mastered at 24/96kHz and replayed on an inexpensive DVD player. He found the Bow wanting in some respects. What is the world coming to?
Sometimes it's just a flimsy sheet of paper; other times it can be a mini book about audio. Which manufacturer provides its customers with the best owner's manual?
<A HREF="http://www.arkivmusic.com">ArkivMusic</A>, one of the Web's leading sources for classical music recordings, has struck a deal that enables them to release on their own reissue label, ArkivCD, out-of-print titles from the extensive catalogues of EMI Classics, Virgin Classics, and Angel Records. The reissues are available "on demand," copied from actual out-of-print CD releases (not master tapes) without compression or enhancement, and are often accompanied by copies of the original liner notes.
On May 30, Apple officially launched iTunes Plus, billed as "DRM-free music tracks featuring high-quality 256kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings." The initial material available from the iTunes Plus section of the iTunes Media Store is, for the moment, limited to EMI artists, although other labels have announced pending deals with Apple. The "improved" songs sell for $1.29 rather than the standard 99¢.
McIntosh Laboratory announced its $6000 MS750 music server on May 30. The second music server in McIntosh's line, the MS750 incorporates a 750GB hard drive and integrated Web interface capabilities. McIntosh estimates that the MS750 is capable of storing 2700 CDs at full resolution, or about 12,000 songs.
The <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/he2007/">Home Entertainment Show 2007</A> held May 11—13, 2007, at the Grand Hyatt New York Hotel in New York City, will be remembered by exhibitors, consumers, and visiting media as a well-attended showcase of some of the finest home-entertainment products available.