Sometimes it all comes down to the shape of the side panels. I was smitten by the gentle curves of the Burmester B99 loudspeaker's aluminum side grilles, which have uncommon grace. A love affair with an enclosure? Well, yes. After all, beauty is an intensely personal matter. In the words of Burmester's motto: "Art for the ear."
Here's a question we last asked about a year ago: With the proliferation of high-resolution sound cards and other computer audio peripherals over the last couple of years, have you begun using your computer to play music?
Chip manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.esstech.com">ESS Technology</A> is no stranger to audiophiles interested in new formats. It was responsible for one of the first "universal" SACD/DVD-Audio <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11059/">decoding chips</A> and more recently was the supplier of a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11296/">special-purpose chip</A> for Linn's SACD "Silver Disk Engine" designs.
Some ultra-high-end two-channel specialists may still be singing the blues, but others in the electronics retailing business are humming happier tunes.
Companies that thrive do so by adapting to a changing market. Sony is revamping its manufacturing and marketing plans in an attempt to become both more efficient and more responsive to consumer needs.
Joe Abrams has an impressive audio resume. "I've been on the manufacturer's side of the desk since 1979," he says. That's when he started as national sales manager for Monster Cable. A few years later found Abrams as director of sales at Sumiko, and then in 1987 he started as VP of sales at Threshold. In 1991 Abrams joined cable start-up Tara Labs and quickly helped them establish a dealer network before moving on to MIT.
Brian Damkroger finds that the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/595/">Magnepan Magneplanar MG1.6/QR loudspeaker</A> and a 1973 Porsche 911 have much in common: "Each has grown out of the vision of a single, brilliant designer. Each reflects the long, steady evolution of a basic design, and the consistent focus on a core set of engineering criteria." BD then listens for the fruits of this approach to speaker design and writes up the results.
As we wrap up the Home Entertainment Show for another year, it seems appropriate to ask if you have attended HE2002 or any other audio or audio/video show.
In his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/590/">Meridian 508.24 CD player</A>, Wes Phillips finds the machine "a beautiful design with impeccable technical credentials—a CD player that belongs, with only a few others, at the very sharpest portion of the leading edge, and that joins them in producing sound that is highly musical and hard to criticize."