Personally, I've enjoyed the Potter books finding the themes more archetypal than "derivative," but <I>chacun á son goût</I>, ya know? What I found interesting about Ron Charles' rant was this pithy argument: "We're experiencing the literary equivalent of a loss of biodiversity." In 1994, according to a Stanford survey, over 70% of fiction sales were from just five authors.
John Flahive answered the phone one evening. On the other end of the line was a stranger, George Martorano calling from prison. That call changed both their lives.
During the SACD and DVD-Audio heyday, multichannel audio was finding new converts. Did you convert? Has it stuck with you? Why or why not?
With the introduction of the 1000 Be series in 2005, Focal slipped its exclusive, high-performance beryllium tweeter out of the stuffy-looking Utopia series and into a sleeker, more stylish, more modern form.
<I>Bookshelf loudspeaker</I>. The phrase may be common usage, but I really dislike describing small speakers as "bookshelf" models. Place a pair of high-performance minis on a bookshelf against the wall and you destroy much of the sound quality for which you've paid. Yet place the same speakers on good stands well away from room boundaries, and while it could be argued that their footprint is no smaller than a conventional tower speaker, with the best designs you'll get true high-end sound, particularly regarding the accuracy of midrange reproduction and the stability of stereo imaging.
<B>JOHN ABERCROMBIE: <I>The Third Quartet</I></B><BR>
John Abercrombie, electric & acoustic guitar; Mark Feldman, violin; Marc Johnson, bass; Joey Baron, drums<BR>
ECM 1993 (CD). 2007. Manfred Eicher, prod.; James Farber, eng. DDD. TT: 59:45<BR>
Performance ****½<BR>
Sonics ****½
Things looked grim for Internet radio late last week. On July 11, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals declined to delay the <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/news/031907internet/">increase</A> in digital performance royalties the Copyright Royalty Board imposed last March. The new fees were scheduled to go into effect on July 15, retroactive to the beginning of 2006.
Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, Inc., whch declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/news/061807chapter11/">June 11</A>, accepted a $38 million bid for a "going concern" acquisition from Schultze Asset Management, a firm specializing in "distressed positions."