Is it merely the tip of the iceberg, or a temporary diversion? Hard to say just yet, but a recent report from the <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA) suggests that increasing numbers of folks are using their PCs in place of, or in addition to, regular audio systems.
Specialty audio manufacturers did better than expected in 1997, with factory sales as high as $1.4 billion, as reported <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10148/">last week</A>. More figures from the <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> indicate that the High End's good fortune is part of a bigger trend.
Do offensive lyrics in pop music contribute to violent behavior and teen suicide? Some lawmakers believe so, and think public investment in the entertainment business is immoral.
Audio amplifiers are now available in power ratings of as low as a few watts. At the other end of the scale are gigawatt amps of 1000W or more. Most fall somewhere in the middle. How much power does a good system really need?
On April 15, <A HREF="http://www.ascap.com/">ASCAP</A> (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), the music performing-rights organization, and <A HREF="http://www.liquidaudio.com">Liquid Audio</A>, a developer of secure online music delivery systems, announced a strategic alliance to protect ownership of music on the Internet. According to a Liquid Audio press release, the initiative encourages, streamlines, and simplifies music-rights licensing and reporting, and will benefit website creators as well as music writers, publishers, and composers.
Everyone claims "CD-quality" sound over the Internet these days, but the reality always seems far short of that promise. As a result, work continues to develop an encoding scheme worthy of the CD-quality title. Recently we <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10133/">reported</A> on developments at <A HREF="http://www.att.com">AT&T</A> regarding the <A HREF="http://www.a2bmusic.com">a2b</A> format, and both <A HREF="http://www.liquidaudio.com">Liquid Audio</A> and <A HREF="http://www.realnetworks.com">RealNetworks</A> compete on a weekly basis to grab headlines for their audio technology announcements.
One billion dollars in 1997---thatÆs the <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A>'s first-ever estimate of the high-end industry's factory-sales volume. The number could be as high as $1.4 billion, according to a CEMA projection for the entire industry based on sales data of a representative sample of 32 companies. The results of the survey were published March 23 on CEMA's website.
PARA, the <A HREF="http://www.paralink.org/">Professional Audio-Video Retailers Association</A>, is bringing its annual management conference to the Hyatt Regency in Hilton Head, South Carolina, this week. The five-day event, running April 22-27, will focus on improving retail strategies. Representatives from more than 600 retailers, suppliers, and industry publications are expected.
Responding to continued softness in the audio market, the <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA) has finalized plans to hold its first annual Audio Industry Summit at the Westin Hotel O'Hare in Chicago, Illinois, May 29-31. CEMA audio company members will congregate in an effort to formulate strategies they believe will lead the category back to long-term prosperity and growth.
WIth DVD-Audio on the horizon, the standards wars have led to a dizzying number of new format variations. Not only do we have different data-rate proposals, we're not even sure how many channels we need. Which do you prefer: a universal audio standard, or a niche-market approach?