HD Radio Goes Live
There's traditional AM and FM radio, there's XM and Sirius satellite radio, and there are various cable and satellite dish "radio" music services. And finally, there's HD Radio.
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Recording of February 1993: Standing in the Safety Zone
<B>FAIRFIELD FOUR: <I>Standing in the Safety Zone</I></B><BR>
The Fairfield Four: Isaac Freeman, bass, musical director; James Hill, baritone, group manager; W. L. Richardson, lead, chaplain; Walter Settler, utility lead; Wilson Waters, tenor, treasurer<BR>Warner Bros. 26945-2 (CD only). Lee Olsen, prod. ADD. TT: 38:13
Listening #12
I didn't care how the stuff measured, and I wasn't terribly worried about the sound. When the single-ended triode movement crossed my attention eight or nine years ago, I simply thought: <I>That's for me.</I>
Reference MM de Capo i loudspeaker
As names go, "Reference 3A" is awful. It sounds less like a company than it does a model number, as in the Dudco Reference 3A (on sale now wherever Fourier speakers used to be sold); I find it hard not to expect a Reference 3B with each new year. Add to that a cumbersome and somewhat meaningless model designation, "MM de Capo i"—what do the <I>M</I>s stand for? what does the <I>i</I> stand for? haven't there been other de Capos in audio recently?—and my poor brain becomes utterly confused. And the older I get, the less I can tolerate being confused. Forgive me if, during the course of this review, I get lazy and fall back on the lazy and admittedly somewhat Clintonesque <I>this speaker</I>.
Acarian Alón Li'l Rascal Mk.II loudspeaker
Since 1991, Acarian Systems' Carl Marchisotto has brought home the bacon by focusing most of his efforts on conventional dynamic, three-way, floorstanding designs in the $2000-$7000/pair range—28 different loudspeaker designs in 12 years, 13 of them still in production. That's why Home Entertainment 2001 showgoers who were familiar with previous Alón efforts were taken aback when Marchisotto unveiled a new flagship for his Alón speaker line: the Exotica Grand Reference, a $120,000 line-source ribbon/dynamic hybrid system comprising five 7' towers. For those attracted to cost-no-object designs, the debut of the Exotica Grand Reference was quite a spectacle.
What is your pick for best music release for 2003?
As we wrap up the year, what do you consider the best CD, LP, SACD, or DVD-A release from 2003?
The Return of Fried Products
One of audio's true originals, Irving "Bud" Fried first made his mark in the late 1950s by becoming an early US importer of Lowther corner horn and Quad electrostatic loudspeakers. By 1975, he had established his own company and began releasing speaker models under the Fried nameplate.
25 Million iTunes
The music industry's traditional packaged-goods retail business may be continuing its long decline, but the sale of downloadable tunes is hot and getting hotter.
Blows Against the Empire
The Recording Industry Association of America (<A HREF="http://www.riaa.com">RIAA</A>) has lost a couple of important rounds in its fight against file sharing.
Added to the Archives This Week
The audiophile Rosetta Stone? From the December issue, Kalman Rubinson goes looking for the perfect all-purpose audio player as he reviews the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/1203linn">Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal disc player</A>. As KR notes, "Even more important than comprehensive compatibility will be any truly universal player's ability to optimally play back all of these formats without robbing Peter to pay Paul."