News

Sort By:  Post Date TitlePublish Date

RIAA Adopts New Digital Strategy

When going up against the consumer electronics industry, the Recording">http://208.240.92.66/">Recording Industry Association of America has no problem keeping the upstarts in their place. In fact, with recent battles over DAT and CD-R, they appear able to kill or mortally wound entire formats at will. But fighting within the computer universe is a whole new story, as recently proved by the RIAA's stumble with Diamond Multimedia and their portable MP3 device (see">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10324/">see related stories).

Added to the Archives This Week

Audiophiles have more than just piles of equipment and music to wrestle with in their quest for audio ecstasy. The listening room often colors a system's performance as much as any component in the chain. Tom Norton decided it was time to examine the subject, writing, "although the perfect room does not exist, there are things that can be done to make the most of even an admittedly difficult situation." See his report in "Enough">http://www.stereophile.com//reference/58/">Enough Room?"

Dispatch from Saratov: Dire Results of Russian Economy, Politics

Editor's Note: This item is an excerpt from an e-mail received from Russia late last week. It's noteworthy that the US Congress has spent hundreds of days and more than $50 million investigating the President's adolescent shenanigans, while elsewhere in the world serious trouble is afoot. Leonid Korostyshevski is a computer consultant and audiophile in the university town of Saratov, on the Volga river 600 miles east of Moscow. His previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10131/">previous dispatch appeared here in March.----BW

An Audio Conspiracy?

For any good battle, it helps to have several key ingredients. First, there has to be an underlying conflict that cannot be settled with diplomatic ease---it is especially important that both combatants covet the same property. Second, each side has to set a propaganda machine in motion to create the appearance of a noble struggle for the good of "the people" that transcends the simple fight for turf control. Third, the outcome of such a battle should have implications stretching far into the future. And finally, these days it helps if the press notices.

Independent Music Shops Surviving Despite Online Competition

Internet traffic doubles every 100 days, according to some statistics. This growth has been accompanied by an increase in the amount of online shopping---a phenomenon that has had a significant impact on retailers. Independent bookstores, for example, have been squeezed not only by the expansion of large-scale operations like Barnes">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/">Barnes & Noble, but also by the popularity of Internet discounters like Amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.com/">Amazon.com; and Borders.comhttp://www.borders.com/">Borders.com;. Online sales of recorded music by both record clubs and start-up resellers have put a dent in the bottom lines of many mass-market music stores---although not a huge one yet. The trend will certainly continue.

Clarion Debuts World's First Automobile PC/Stereo

Convergence has come to the automotive market. Clarion">http://www.autopc.com/">Clarion Corporation of America announced December 4 that it has developed the the world's first product that integrates car audio, computing functions, navigation, and wireless communications through hands-free voice activation. The Clarion AutoPC is a DIN unit that fits in the dash of an automobile, and is powered by the Microsoft Windows CE operating system.

Polk Announces Disposition of Eosone and Genesis Interests

Back in January of this year, we reportedhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10073/">reported; that loudspeaker manufacturer Polk">http://www.polkaudio.com">Polk Audio had purchased an interest in Genesis">http://www.gen-tech.com">Genesis Technologies, a loudspeaker and digital electronics manufacturer, with an option to buy the company in three years. Last week, however, Polk announced that it has decided to pass the company on to new investors.

Sonus Faber's Amati Homage a Work of Art

Among loudspeaker designers, Franco Serblin enjoys an enviable reputation for beautiful creations and meticulous craftsmanship. Until recently, Sonus Faber's resident genius had confined himself to minimonitors with simple crossover networks, such as the Concerto, a Stereophile Class B Recommended Component.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement