Music Industry Tune-Up
We've heard the sad tales from the record labels and distributors about their ever-weakening music sales, but there are other players in the market who are also feeling the pinch: retailers.
LATEST ADDITIONS
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CD Price-Fixing Case Settled
A "victory for consumers" may be a windfall for class-action attorneys and 41 states participating in a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10818/">price-fixing case</A> against the music industry. Some schools and public libraries may also benefit.
Digital Choice and Freedom Act
Not all Washington lawmakers are on the Hollywood payroll. Some even risk offending Big Entertainment by upholding their sworn duty to protect their constituents' interests. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) is such a legislator.
DVD-A Chips Ahoy
If you peer back into audio history, you'll discover that long-term formats are generally established at the mass-market level and then perfected or re-invented by those with audiophile inclinations. One could argue that SACD and DVD-A are attempts at turning that rule on its head. But the slow start exhibited by both formats (with the copy-restriction issue a new and rather large stumbling block) indicates that, once again, the mass market needs to get involved before we can really move forward.
Added to the Archives This Week
The <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/678/">Adcom GFA-555 power amplifier</A> has long been regarded as a classic design and still commands decent prices on the used market. Anthony H. Cordesman and various other <I>Stereophile</I> writers check in with their opinions.
Selling the Benefits
"Ever wondered how the snowplow driver gets to work?"—Doyle Dane Bernbach TV ad for Volkswagen, 1963
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VAC Renaissance Signature Mk.II preamplifier
I had a wonderful audio moment the other night. It was late in the evening, after a long day. I was standing in the middle of my makeshift listening room—Trish's dining room—and in spite of the fact that we were moving in just a few weeks, I'd just unpacked and set up my combo of <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//analogsourcereviews/498/">VPI TNT Mk.V-HR</A> turntable and tonearm with Grado Statement cartridge and dug a box of LPs out of the stacks in the garage. I cued up Dave Brubeck's <I>Time Out</I> (Columbia/Classic CS 8192), and the first notes of "Blue Rondo à la Turk" froze me in my tracks.
How important is a manufacturer's website when researching/buying a product? Why?
Audio product information is available in many forms, from glossy brochures or ads to dealers' informed sales pitches. Where does a manufacturer's website fit into the picture?
Music Industry's Legal Ramble
<I>The Monsters are Due on Maple Street:</I> In the 1960 <I>Twilight Zone</I> episode with this title, inexplicable power outages and celestial lights cause the citizens of an idyllic American town to accuse one other of being aliens. Fear feeds suspicion, hysteria turns to mayhem, and soon lynch mobs roam the streets and former friends are burning down each other's homes.
TI's High-Rez FireWire Device
<A HREF="http://www.ti.com">Texas Instruments</A> has released a new chip that advances the performance of high-resolution digital audio while limiting consumers' ability to enjoy it.