Bill Firebaugh's first product, the outrageous-looking <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/tonearms/485well">Well-Tempered (tone) Arm</A>, established him as one of audio's most innovative designers. At the 1985 Winter CES, he showed a prototype companion product—the Well-Tempered Turntable—and was producing production units by January 1987. He discusses here the WTT's unusual design features. (Readers should note that, since we have not yet tested the new turntable, this interview is not to be interpreted as an endorsement of the product.)
There may some old favorites that have been re-released, but when it comes to <I>new</I> music, what is your favorite new music release so far this year?
Even after a two-day auction and federal bankruptcy court approval of a $134.3 million bid by the Great American Group, which has stated that it plans to liquidate the music retailer, it's not precisely clear what is in store for Tower Records.
On October 4, <A HREF="http://www.wisdomaudio.com/">Wisdom Audio</A> announced the appointment of its new president, industry veteran Mark Glazier, to oversee the company's sales, customer development and support, marketing, distribution, and overall business development.
Classical music specialist Channel Classics, headquartered in the Netherlands, has begun releasing the first DSD-native, hybrid multichannel SACDs recorded in China. Issued under the Channel of China imprint, the first two titles, <I>Ambush on All Sides</I> (CCS-SA-80106), featuring Zhang Hong Yan on solo pipa, and <I>Soliloquy at Cold Mountain Temple</I> (CCS-SA-80406), with the China National Symphony Orchestra under Li Xin Cao, have recently reached the US. A third SACD, featuring Yu Hong Mei on erhu (CCS-SA-80206), is scheduled to reach European shelves at the end of September and the US three or four months later.
On September 14, Sonos, Inc., the company whose <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/1006sonos">well-designed wireless Controller</A> adorns the cover of our October issue, announced the release of its Sonos System Software 2.0. John Atkinson and I rode to the 11th floor of Manhattan's glitzy Trump International Hotel and Tower, overlooking Central Park's brilliant canopy of green trees, to meet with Sonos co-founder Thomas Cullen and CEO John MacFarlane for a brief demonstration.
Brahms loved making jokes. "And if a good one doesn't occur to me, then [I'll make] a bad one."