Last week, <A HREF="http://www.ibm.com/harddrive">IBM</A> announced a new device that it says will allow mobile users to add an extra 10 gigabytes (GB) of hard-drive capacity to their notebook PCs. Why is this important to audio fans? IBM is intending the new drive, called the Travelstar E, to primarily appeal to those wanting to take extended music libraries with them on the road.
In his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/156/">Wadia 830 CD player</A>, Brian Damkroger states: "My take on the Wadia was that: a) it probably wasn't going to sound that much better than the best of the $1000-ish players I had around, and b) even if it did, the differences wouldn't matter enough to me to justify its cost. My audio path took a dramatic turn one weekend, however, when a pair of cable manufacturers stopped by to demo their new products." Read about his journey and the ultimate audio destination will be revealed.
This may come as no surprise to <I>Stereophile</I>'s website audience, but a report released last week finds that the heaviest users of the World Wide Web are also avid consumers of traditional media, listening to CDs and radio and watching television as they point their browsers to e-commerce, informational, and recreational sites.
"The bottom line is that good stuff <I>really is</I> better, and unfortunately, it usually costs more," proclaimed my friend Charlie over lunch one day. Our conversation had drifted to our newest toys, and although Charlie isn't an audiophile, he's passionate about his hobbies and appreciates performance and quality. He'll talk animatedly about exotic mountain bikes or Leica cameras, for example, and he has a garage full of Snap-On hand tools. Last winter he conducted an exhaustive search before selecting a particular pair of Zeiss binoculars—and the price of one of his James Purdey or 1930s-vintage Charles Daly shotguns would stagger even a veteran audiophile.
As January 1, 2000 approaches, and the MP3 whirlpool continues to swirl, one simple fact has made me feel as if I'm stuck at the starting line of the entire download controversy: The sound quality of MP3 has yet to improve above that of the average radio broadcast. Until that changes, I'm merely curious—as opposed to being in the I-want-to-know-it-all-now frenzy that is my usual m.o. when to comes to anything that promises music you can't get anywhere else.
Unless you've recently returned from a five-year tour of Tibetan monasteries, the odds are pretty good you've heard about the Nautilus revision of B&W's classic three-way floorstanding monitor, the 801. Having sold 30,000 of the earlier 801, the Matrix, B&W recently revised this classic to incorporate some design features of its $40,000, four-way concept speaker, the Nautilus. Wes Phillips reviewed the new Nautilus 801 in the January 1999 <I>Stereophile</I> (p.107) and found it "incredibly dynamic, images and soundstages like crazy, and has that special magic that marks it as one of the great loudspeakers."
In answering last week's VOTE! question, many indicated that they're looking for new equipment. What, if anything, are you currently considering?
Nearly six years after suffering a debilitating stroke, Sony Corporation co-founder Akio Morita has died. One of the world's most charismatic business executives, Morita succumbed to pneumonia on Sunday, October 3, in Tokyo. He was 78.
In his review of the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/152/">VTL MB750 monoblock power amplifier</A>, Brian Damkroger asks: "How much power do you really need? What does it do for you, anyway?" His answer may surprise you. Also added to the Archives this week is Damkroger's in-depth history lesson and interview with the man behind the company, "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//interviews/153/">Making Tubes User-Friendly: Luke Manley of VTL</A>."
How would you like to make a full 650Mb compilation CD of your favorite music in less than 10 minutes? That's what <A HREF="http://www.tdk.com/">TDK</A> is promising with its new veloCD ReWriter drive, to be shipped to dealers later this fall.