News

Given the state of the economy, speculation abounds concerning major declines in the numbers of exhibitors and attendees at this year's audio/video shows in Las Vegas. If the advance numbers can be trusted, however, that will be anything but the case this January 8–11, when the high-end audio exhibits of both the Consumer Electronics Show and T.H.E. Show will be open.

The Deutsche Grammophon webshophttp://www2.deutschegrammophon.com/">webshop; and http://www.hdtracks.com ">HDtracks have special New Year's gifts for audiophiles: more CD-quality and high-resolution downloads.

ASL Group (formerly known as Audiophile Systems Ltd.) announced December 19 that it had acquired Naim North America, the US distributor of Naim Audio and NaimNet, a deal that strengthens both ASL and Naim NA. Naim Audio's CEO Paul Stephenson said, "It's like going home, since we originally were distributed by Audiophile Systems when we first moved into the US."

Naim Audio's Naim Classics label has begun releasing recordings in Dual Pack format that contains both a Red-Book CD and 24-bit/88.2kHz audio DVD for $24.95. The exclusive US distributor of Naim's high resolution titles will be www.premieremusic.nethttp://www.premieremusic.net">www.premieremusic.net;.

Meridian Audio Ltd. announced at 4pm December 5 that it had acquired media server manufacturer Sooloos LLC. "Basically, it comes from [Meridian founder] Bob Stuart's appreciation of great industrial design and innovative technologies," said Meridian's Chief Marketing Officer Graeme Taylor. "That combination is what Meridian has always attempted to offer and when Bob saw Sooloos' products, he realized that Peter Wellikoff [COO], Enno Vandermeer [CEO], and Danny Dulai [CTO] shared those values. Over time, it became obvious that, between what we shared and what we each could offer each other, the acquisition made tremendous sense."

Naxos has taken a major step toward distributing higher-quality downloads of classical-music recordings. ClassicsOnlinehttp://www.classicsonline.com">ClassicsOnline;, the label's impressive download site, now offers the world's largest collection of classical-music recordings free of digital rights management (DRM). All of the site's nearly 22,000 albums, from more than 100 independent labels, are available at 320kbps.

Can audiences tell the difference between a computer-generated orchestra and the real thing? Just how far have digital sampling and loudspeaker technologies advanced?