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Tower Records: No Bankruptcy

Barry Willis Jun 24, 2001 First Published: Jun 24, 2001

The fate of Tower">http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records has been the subject of music industry speculation for months. The company's financial difficulties have been no secret; several stories recently appeared alluding to a new Tower">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11041/">Tower policy of making some suppliers share the burden—especially distributors of small specialty classical labels.

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Priming the DVD-Audio Pump

Jon Iverson Jun 24, 2001 First Published: Jun 24, 2001

It might stand to reason that the first market for DVD-Audio discs will likely be consumers who already own DVD-Video machines. It also stands to reason that a large number of consumers who have set up a DVD-Video player in their systems have also added surround-sound speakers in their audio/video rooms, and are looking for new software to take advantage of the extra channels.

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Added to the Archives This Week

Stereophile Staff Jun 24, 2001 First Published: Jun 24, 2001

As Michael Fremer reports, critics have universally hailed Infinity's $8k flagship Prelude MTS. But can the success of the MTS trickle down to the lower price points? For his review of the $2000/pr Infinity">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/364/">Infinity Intermezzo 2.6 loudspeaker, Fremer set out to determine if the more modest sibling is a "worthwhile chip off the old block or just a marketing divot."

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European Commission Looking into MusicNet, Duet

Barry Willis Jun 17, 2001 First Published: Jun 17, 2001

The European Commission isn't especially fond of joint ventures by international media conglomerates. Last year, the EC successfully squashed a proposed merger of EMI and Warner Music Group on the grounds that WMG's parent company, AOL Time Warner (then simply Time Warner), combined with the UK's biggest name in music, would create "a virtual monopoly" of the European music market. A few months later, merger discussions between EMI and Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) similarly went nowhere. EC investigators also looked into price-fixing in the European CD market early this year.

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Added to the Archives This Week

Stereophile Staff Jun 17, 2001 First Published: Jun 17, 2001

They've been around for years, under a variety of guises and from an evolving list of manufacturers and distributors. But the BBC">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/361/">BBC LS3/5a loudspeakers still cling to their legendary status. We provide not only J. Gordon Holt's original 1977 review for Stereophile, but also follow-ups from 1984, 1989, and 1993. Read about the little speaker that could.

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Universal Audio Decoding For All?

Jon Iverson Jun 17, 2001 First Published: Jun 17, 2001

More good news for budget-conscious audiophiles who are waiting for that all-in-one universal high-resolution audio player: Yet another chip manufacturer is announcing a decoder IC that will allow new DVD machines to untangle just about any audio file format. Last week, LuxSonor Semiconductors joined the growing list (see previoushttp://www.stereophile.com/news/11059/">previous;) of chip manufacturers that are including both DVD-Audio and SACD in one package.

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PC Or CE?

Jon Iverson Jun 17, 2001 First Published: Jun 17, 2001

Maybe it's only fair: Consumer electronics giants like Sony have been selling personal computers lately, so computer manufacturer Compaqhttp://www.compaq.com/ipaqaudio">Compaq; announced last week that it will begin selling audio products. Joining Intel in making the transition from the computer industry to consumer electronics, Compaq has now redefined itself as "a global enterprise technology and solutions company."

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Improved Digital Audio Schemes Debut

Barry Willis Jun 17, 2001 First Published: Jun 17, 2001

First, the sobering reality: Among the world's billions of music lovers, probably a million or fewer are true audiophiles, for whom sound quality is a primary concern. The uncritical majority will embrace any audio technology that offers economy and convenience. Case in point: the popularity of the MP3 digital format, widely derided by audiophiles for its compressed dynamics and lack of detail, but adopted readily by the general public because of its ease of use.

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Music for Rent: BMG Signs Web Deal with FullAudio

Barry Willis Jun 17, 2001 First Published: Jun 17, 2001

Here's an audio riddle for you. Question: What's erasable but not recordable? Answer: Downloadable music from FullAudio">http://www.fullaudio.com">FullAudio Corporation.

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Summer Begins with a Frenzy of Music-Related Lawsuits

Barry Willis Jun 10, 2001 First Published: Jun 10, 2001

Music industry attorneys may not enjoy much of a summer vacation. The season got off to a litigious start with a flurry of lawsuits by and against record labels and music-based websites.