News

In the wake of last week's disasters in New York, Washington, DC, and Pittsburgh, Audio">http://www.audioasylum.com">Audio Asylum and Audiogonhttp://www.audiogon.com">Audiogon; have banded together to co-sponsor a charity auction of audio equipment to benefit the NY Firefighters' Fund and other related charities.

Wes Phillips pries a hard-to-acquire Ayre">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/412/">Ayre Acoustics V-3 power amplifier out of company hands and puts it to the sonic test. Does the amp live up to its legendary "Best of Show" status? Phillips has the answer.

For the last several months, the major record labels have been ramping up what some have viewed as a stealth assault on their customers by increasingly deploying technology that restricts the use of audio CDs (see previoushttp://www.stereophile.com/news/11113/">previous;). While an increasing number of music fans have been crying foul, one consumer has decided to fight back in court.

Most aspiring musicians dream of the day they will sign a contract with a major record label. Too often, the dreams become nightmares from which they can escape only much later in life.

Breaking news at the 2001 CEDIA Expo, held this past weekend in Indianapolis, IN, was that Harry Pearson, founder and editor of bimonthly high-end audio magazine The Absolute Sound, has apparently been moved to one side. According to TAS publisher Mark Fisher, with whom I spoke briefly Sunday morning on the Show floor, the day-to-day editing of the magazine will become the responsibility of erstwhile Stereophile consulting technical editor Robert Harley.

The Super Audio CD has won the endorsement of two more major record labels, according to press releases issued the last week of August. The announcements followed by only a few days one by Universal">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11123/">Universal Music Group that it would begin producing the high-resolution recordings for mass distribution.

Just as the Asian economic crisis a few years ago dealt a big blow to American high-end audio manufacturers, the slowing American economy is causing repercussions for Japanese companies.