News

The first part of a six-part BBC documentary narrated by the late John Peel

Born in January 1941, Don van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, died Friday, December 17, 2010, of complications related to multiple sclerosis.

Even though he gave up music in 1982 (beginning a successful career as a reclusive artist until hampered by the onset of multiple sclerosis), Captain Beefheart left an important and influential musical legacy.

Great Britain is dreaming of a silent night. A new recording of John Cage's controversial piece, “4'33",” stands a good chance of becoming Britain’s best-selling single during Christmas week. (Woo!)

Michael Fremer wears a pair of special Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers by John Varvatos. Now, when Mikey shops for gear, he can also listen to some. John Varvatos fashion boutiques have become an official dealer for select McIntosh components, such as the MXA60 "Manhattan Home Audio System."

This Saturday, December 4, from 11am to 4pm, Overture Ultimate Audio/Video will host an open house to present Vivid Audio’s visually and sonically impressive G1 Giya loudspeaker.

Stereophile.com was feeling a little bit old.

We'd have to go back to September 2005 to recall the last major changes made to our website. It was then that we began adding our forums and blogs, which moved slowly at first, went through some growing pains, and finally became some of our most popular online destinations. About a year later, we made other minor revisions, altering the look and feel of our site to make it friendlier, more attractive, and easier to use.

These were all great moves, but the nature of the Web demands near-constant renewal. The time had come for some tube-rolling. Or, if you prefer, we needed to augment our physical media with a high-res, lightning-fast, computer-based system. Look at it however you like. The situation was clear: We were overdue for a facelift.

Axpona lives! The Audio Expo of North America, the consumer high-end audio show whose successful">http://blog.stereophile.com/axpona2010">successful 2010 launch in Jacksonville, Florida, established it as the premier high-performance audio show on the East Coast, has moved to the far more accessible and convention-friendly Sheraton Atlanta, in Georgia. Scheduled for April 15–17, 2011, with a special four-hour trade preview on April 14, the show is cosponsored by Stereophile and Goldmine.

La Stupenda is no more. The brilliant coloratura soprano Joan Sutherland, who died a thousand deaths onstage after emitting flawless high E-flats, died at her home near Montreux, Switzerland, on Sunday, October 10. Her death was confirmed by her frequent stage partner and friend, mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.