<I>Who knows not Circe,<BR>The daughter of the Sun, whose charmed cup<BR>Whoever tasted, lost his upright shape,<BR>And downward fell into a groveling swine?</I><BR>—John Milton, <I>Comus</I>
<B>BILL LLOYD: <I>Standing on the Shoulders of Giants</I></B><BR> Koch LOC-CD-8035 (CD). 1999. Bill Lloyd, Scott Baggett, prods., engs.; Brad Jones, prod.; Robin Eaton, Marshall Crenshaw, engs. AAD? TT: 56:46<BR> Performance <B>****?</B><BR> Sonics <B>****</B>
Reader Louis McFarlane asks a question that may touch a nerve or two among audiophiles.
Strange but true: <I>Stereophile</I> editor John Atkinson once sold a tweak amplifier after being startled by not being able to identify it in a blind listening test. "Convinced by these results of the validity of the <I>Consumer Reports</I> philosophy, I consequently sold my exotic and expensive Lecson power amplifier, with which I had been very happy, and bought a much cheaper Quad 405---the biggest mistake of my audiophile career!" says JA of the experience.
The MP3 digital music format continues to gain momentum. Only two weeks ago, Thomson S.A., the international electronics conglomerate (parent of RCA and ProScan), <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10436/">announced</A> a 20% investment in <A HREF="http://www.musicmatch.com/">MusicMatch, Inc.</A>, the San Diego, California-based maker of management software for the upstart format. Last week Thomson took a further radical stance by announcing RCA's own MP3 player, the Lyra, to a gathering of more than 400 dealers at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
In an Internet world, the audiophile's quest for sound quality via high-resolution formats like DVD-Audio or SACD might be the last gasps of a dying generation. New media and technology companies like <A HREF="http://www.liquidaudio.com/">Liquid Audio</A>, <A HREF="http://www.diamondmultimedia.com/">Diamond Multimedia</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.real.com">RealNetworks</A> are betting that the new generations of music lovers care more about how music is distributed, stored, and manipulated than about how it ultimately sounds. Les Garland, one of the founders of MTV and VH-1, has stated that "Technology fueled the growth of the market for music during the time when we pioneered music on cable. The Internet is having a similar effect, tenfold, driving artists and consumers to embrace digital media."
Our <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10430/">report</A> two weeks ago on Grateful Dead Productions and its dispute with MP3 sites was tainted by some bits of misinformation. Dave Rosenberg, webmaster at <A HREF="http://www.otherones.net/">OtherOnes.net</A>, has pointed out that his site did not receive a cease and desist order, but <I>was</I> asked to remove any Grateful Dead logo. Rosenberg was appreciative of the publicity the issue has received. "Thank you for publishing and making known the problems Deadabase is currently facing from Grateful Dead Productions," he wrote.
Now that we know a little about what you sit in while listening, how about the room you listen in?
The <A HREF="http://www.rounder.com/">Rounder Records Group</A>, one of the largest independent record labels in the US, has signed on with <A HREF="http://www.liquidaudio.com/">Liquid Audio</A> for digital music distribution on the Internet. As of April 28, Rounder will offer a substantial portion of its catalog for sale by digital download.
Upstart digital audio format MP3 received some heavy-duty validation with the announcement on Wednesday, April 27 by Thomson Multimedia SA that it has made a 20% investment in <A HREF="http://www.musicmatch.com/">MusicMatch Inc.</A>, a maker of MP3 player and management software. "Jukebox," as the software is known, is used to play, encode, and manage MP3 files. Thomson makes RCA, ProScan, and Thomson brand electronics.