While doing research for his analysis of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/378/">Totem Acoustic Forest loudspeaker</A>, Larry Greenhill uncovered a legacy of great reviews for the company's previous products each ending with a final "but . . ." comment. But . . . does Greenhill discover any killer "buts" with the Forest? He explains in detail.
There appears to be nothing more important to the music business today than controlling the distribution and use of digital content on the web and in the home. Proprietary schemes to prevent or control the use of audio files have become hot commodities and valuable assets for many companies. <A HREF="http://www.liquidaudio.com">Liquid Audio</A> recently announced that the US Patent Office has awarded the company a patent (#6,219,634) for its watermark technique used for distributing secure digital music files.
In what is intended to have the biggest impact yet on the thriving "rip, mix, burn" lifestyle, <A HREF="http://www.macrovision.com">Macrovision</A> has revealed that several record labels have been secretly putting its copy protection system onto new CD releases since around March of this year (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10985/">previous report</A>). The process, called SafeAudio, is a Macrovision registered trademark and is intended to prevent the copying of CDs, or tracks from CDs, onto CD-R discs and computer hard drives. The technology was developed jointly by Macrovision and <A HREF="http://www.ttrtech.com">TTR Technologies</A>.
One of the most astute bits of folk wisdom is the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
We were saddened to learn of the death of audio guru Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg, who died Monday, July 16 of an apparent heart attack. He was 59.
The CEA is asking for nominations from industry folks for the 2002 class of inductees into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame. We think it's only fair that everybody should get a chance to add a candidate or two to our unofficial Audio Hall of Fame.
Several months back, <I>Stereophile</I> editor John Atkinson asked David Rich to investigate the technical merits of SACD. With <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//features/374/">Super Audio CD: The Rich Report</A>, DR discovers that there is both more and less than meets the ear to the new format, including why it is being promoted in the first place.
Music fans who use their computers to organize their CD or MP3 music libraries have found the CDDB music database, now owned and operated by <A HREF="http://www.gracenote.com">Gracenote</A> (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11046/">previous story</A>), to be an essential part of their audio world. If you use CDDB-enabled hardware or software, the artist, album title, genre, and track titles will automatically display when you put a CD or load an MP3 file into your computer or compliant player.
Last year's media darling may be this year's has-been. <A HREF="http://www.napster.com">Napster</A>, the music file-sharing service that shook the music industry's foundations, remains shut down after US District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled that it cannot resume operations until it can prove that no copyrighted songs can slip through its filter. In a closed session on Wednesday, July 11, Patel ordered Napster to stay offline until she authorizes it to do otherwise.