LATEST ADDITIONS

Internet radio streams have received a reprieve from the US Copyright Review Board (CRB) decision to <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/news/042307net/">restructure the royalty fees</A> for the format. In March, the CRB established fees, effective retroactively to the beginning of 2006, that would be ramped up each year through 2010, with a cost of 0.08&#162; per performance (per listener) in 2006, going up to 0.11&#162; in 2007; 0.14&#162; in 2008; 0.18&#162; in 2009; and 0.19&#162; in 2010.

<B>John Atkinson Opens</B>
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I've said it before and I'll say it again: a would-be loudspeaker designer shouldn't even start to <I>think</I> about the possibility of maybe designing a full-range, multi-way loudspeaker until he (and they do all appear to be men) has cut his teeth on a small two-way design. There is still as much art as science in designing a successful loudspeaker, even with all the computer-aided this and Thiele-and-Small that, that even a two-way design requires a designer either to be possessed of a monster talent or of the willingness to undergo months, even years, of tedious and repetitive work&mdash;or of both. For a would-be speaker engineer to start his career with a wide dynamic-range, multi-way design, intended to cover the entire musical spectrum from infra-bass to ultra-treble, seems to me to be a perfect case of an admittedly well-intentioned fool rushing in where any sufficiently self-critical angel would fear to tread.

On January 1, 1990, Canadian electronics manufacturer Bryston instituted a remarkable warranty program that covered each of their products for a full 20 years. This warranty includes all audio products ever manufactured and sold under the Bryston name. Besides covering parts and labor costs, the company will also pay shipping costs one way. This is all the more significant for their 4B NRB amplifier, which has been in production since 1976. The amp's $2k price, while not cheap, is at the lower end of what well-heeled audiophiles typically pay for amplifiers.

What's in a name? Quite a bit, when you stop and think about it. Would you rather have prostate surgery by Dr. Steadyhand or Dr. Whoops? Names imply a lot, even if we don't consciously make the connection; that's why your Polo shirt was made by Ralph Lauren instead of Ralph Lipshitz.

Freida Hughes is less than reverent about a Robert Service poem. She's right&mdash;the callow lad got bent out of shape when his booty call wasn't the idyll he had imagined.

Because I thought I was the boss of him, that's why.

"These syllables might be nonsensical, but they are telling and resonant."