LATEST ADDITIONS

For the 109th convention of the <A HREF="http://www.aes.org/">Audio Engineering Society</A>, the main floor of the L.A. Convention Center was transformed into a bazaar of new tools for audio professionals&mdash;but the panel discussions upstairs were where the real action took place. On Friday, September 22&mdash;just an hour before researchers Dr. Stanley Lipshitz and John Vanderkooy of Ontario's University of Waterloo presented a paper offering a mathematical proof for the "imperfectability" of one-bit delta-sigma recording systems&mdash;Sony Corporation issued a clarification of the technical standards for its Direct Stream Digital technology, the basis of the Super Audio Compact Disc. DSD, it now appears, is a one-bit technique as it applies to consumer playback systems, but uses a multi-bit PCM quantizer [<I>presumably within a delta-sigma converter negative-feedback loop; see an article on this subject in the forthcoming November issue of </I>Stereophile<I>&mdash;Ed.</I>] at the recording and mastering ends of the business. (The Lipshitz/Vanderkooy paper is available as AES preprint #5188.)

Citing the potential danger of "collective dominance" of the music business, European Commission members have nixed the proposed merger of American media conglomerate Time Warner and British music-industry powerhouse EMI. The $20 billion joint venture may still have some small chance at a future, provided the companies make further concessions to allay fears of monopolistic control of music prices in Europe.

E<I>ditor's Note: This is Part Six of a six-part series from reader Herv&#233; Del&#233;traz of Switzerland, who has chronicled the development of his DIY (do-it-yourself) audio amplifier.

This smallish loudspeaker system has been getting high ratings in the English audio magazines for some years but was not available to US consumers until recently, when the small firm (literally a Mom'n'Pop enterprise, footnote 1) arranged for US distribution through Audio International.

The Spendor BC-1 is about as unimpressive-looking as any other smallish three-way loudspeaker, of which there are countless hundreds of models being made in the US at present. In fact, we were so ho-hummed by the mundane appearance of this speaker that we found it hard to connect the pair up and give them a listen.

Most people who now listen to tube amplifiers began with a transistor amp, and know from experience that a tube amp of a given measured power output sounds louder than its nominally identical transistorized equivalent. The unofficial consensus is that you need two to four times the transistor power to achieve the same loudness as you would using tubes. In other words, given the (subjectively) undistorted sound level a 25W (footnote 1) tube amplifier can provide, if you want the same loudness from solid-state technology you would have to replace it with at least a 50W transistor amp (footnote 2).

Italian audio journal <I>Fedelta' del Suono</I> (Sound Fidelity) has honored American startup <A HREF="http://www.redrosemusic.com/">Red Rose Music</A> with "Product of the Year" awards for the company's Model 3 preamplifier and Model 2 power amp. The award is especially noteworthy in view of the fact that the monthly publication, based in Terni, Italy, does not normally f&#234;te products from new companies.

An unusual tropical rain welcomed the <A HREF="http://www.aes.org/">Audio Engineering Society</A> to its 109th gathering, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center September 22&ndash;25. Audiophiles may breathe a collective sigh of relief to learn that the Super Audio Compact Disc is getting a big push, not only from corporate parents Sony/Philips but from studio-equipment makers, consumer-electronics companies, and&mdash;perhaps most important&mdash;music labels.