News

When we last heard from NBC Universal's CEO Jeff Zucker, he'd refused to renew the network's yearly contract with Apple's iTunes Store, leading Apple to">http://stereophile.com/news/090307nbc/">to immediately pull NBC shows from the store rather than have them yanked midseason. In addition, Apple managed to control the story so that NBC came off looking clueless and greedy. You'd think Zucker would have learned to keep his mouth shut from that media drubbing.

This last week has generated more mainstream coverage of the vinyl world than we've seen in, say, the last 20 years.

The invitation looked intriguing: "We are happy to welcome you to The Netherlands in September for the offical introduction of the Siltech Pantheon Loudspeaker." Siltechwww.siltechcables.com">Siltech; introducing a loudspeaker? I was well familiar with the Dutch company, celebrating its 25^th anniversary next year, as a cable manufacturer. Indeed, some of the first high-end cables I had found to sound better than what I had been used to were Siltechs, back in the mid-1980s. Paul Bolin had been impressed by his auditioning">http://www.stereophile.com/cables/1004siltech">auditioning of more recent G5 models in 2004. And Siltech's founder, Edwin van der Kley, is married to the irrepressible Gabi van der Kley, principal of Crystal Cable with whom I had had a rather intense breakfast meeting with during last May's Home">http://blog.stereophile.com/he2007">Home Entertainment 2007. (All conversations with Gabi are intense.) But loudspeakers?

A consortium of media and Internet companies announced a set of guidelines to protect copyrights online on October 19. Among the group, which has been negotiating for nine months, were Walt Disney Co.; Microsoft; NBC Universal; Viacom, Inc.; CBS Corp.; News Corp.'s MySpace and Fox constituents; Veoh Networks, Inc.; and Dailymotion S.A. Noticeable for its absence was Google, including YouTube, which has recently been sued for $1 billion for infringement by Viacom.

When Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Goldman Sachs decided to call">http://stereophile.com/news/092407harman/">call off their projected">http://stereophile.com/news/043007harman/">projected $8 billion takeover of Harman International Industries, Inc., industry experts predicted the audio company would take the two financial firms to court, if not to gain the $225 million termination fee, to force them to abide by their material adverse effect statement and complete the transaction.

Jazz fans rejoice! Not only is Music">http://blog.stereophile.com/cedia2007/090707bluenote/">Music Matters releasing new 45rpm double LP reissues of classic Blue Note titles, but so is Analogue Productions.

Jammie Thomas Appeal: Just weeks after having been found liable for $220,000">http://stereophile.com/news/100807jammie/">$220,000 in damages for allegedly offering 24 music tracks on her KaZaa account, Jammie Thomas has filed a notice of remittitur with the US District Court for the District of Minnesota, asking the judge to slash the jury's damage award, contending that she should receive a retrial that assesses the damages based on the actual damages suffered by the labels resulting from her making the files available.

A Show like last week's Rocky">http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2007">Rocky Mountain Audio Fest presents me with conflicts. As a member of the press I should be spending my time covering the Show. However, I am also spending my time as a participant, in this case giving a series">http://www.stereophile.com/news/100807rmaf/">series of presentations in which I allowed Showgoers the opportunity to listen to the hi-rez masters of many of my Stereophile recordings and compare them with CD and MP3 versions.

Attention shoppers! With any purchase of $100 or more from our secure">http://ssl.blueearth.net/primedia/home.php">secure E-commerce page, we’ll be happy to include one wonderfully cool and comfy, XL Stereophile T-shirt, absolutely free of charge. Offer applies to orders of $100 or more before shipping and handling fees, and is only available while supplies last, so act now. Browse our large collection of CDs, LPs, and back issues and splurge on yourself, or get a little extra something special for your favorite audiophile—just in time for the holiday season!

MartinLogan: MartinLoganhttp://www.martinlogan.com">MartinLogan; has launched its Custom">http://configurator.martinlogan.com">Custom Shop application, which will enable consumers to utilize a 3D model and a palette of finishes to configure custom loudspeakers. ML claims that its flagship Summit loudspeaker ($10,995/pair) can be ordered in 400,000 custom combinations. The consumer can chose everything from cabinet finish to the color of the screws on the rear panel, the company claims.