Blows Against the Empire
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAAhttp://www.riaa.com">RIAA;) has lost a couple of important rounds in its fight against file sharing.
News
Sort By: Post Date TitlePublish Date
Added to the Archives This Week
The audiophile Rosetta Stone? From the December issue, Kalman Rubinson goes looking for the perfect all-purpose audio player as he reviews the Linn">http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/1203linn">Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal disc player. As KR notes, "Even more important than comprehensive compatibility will be any truly universal player's ability to optimally play back all of these formats without robbing Peter to pay Paul."
CES Debutantes
Audio manufacturers love to make big announcements at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas (which runs January 8–11, 2004), and the upcoming show is no exception. In addition to Fried Products' aggressive relaunch (see related story), several other companies are heading in new directions.
Sirius Gets Serious
Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Satellite Radio has achieved three milestones in its campaign to reach profitability.
Added to the Archives This Week
Now that 2003 is almost a memory, it's time for The">http://www.stereophile.com/features/1203poty">The 2003 Products of the Year. Once again Stereophile's writers cast their votes on the year's audio worthies.
Sony & BMG Tie the Knot
And then there were four: Sony's music division and German media company Bertelsmann, parent of the BMG record label, have decided that they've got a better chance under one roof. Last week, the two companies revealed that they will merge their music divisions into a new company called Sony BMG.
Stanalog Acquires Well-Tempered Labs
Few audio products have proved as enduringly fascinating to audiophiles as William Firebaugh's Well-Tempered Turntable design. At once elegantly simple and technically sophisticated, it was an immediate hit with music lovers and critics alike—and was long a staple of Stereophile's "Recommended Components" list. For the greater part of the product's 20-year lifespan, the Well-Tempered 'table has been distributed and manufactured under the direction of Transparent Audio, Inc. However, Carl Smith, the Transparent partner who supervised the manufacture of the Well-Tempered line, decided to retire this year, and Transparent determined that it should concentrate on its cable business.
Peter J. Walker 1916–2003
I am saddened to report that Peter James Walker, the founder of quintessential English audio company Quad, passed away on December 10, after a long illness. He was 87. Peter Walker had been married twice; both his wives had died before him. He is survived by a daughter, Victoria, and a son, Ross, the latter having played a major role in managing Quad through the 1970s and '80s.
Julian Hirsch: 1922–2003
Julian Hirsch, the man who personified the state of audio criticism for nearly half a century, died on November 24 after a long illness.
Retail Bouncing Back?
Retail may be bouncing back. Best Buy, North America's number one electronics chain, reported an 18% gain in total sales for its third quarter ended November 29. The Richfield, MN–based operation posted $6.03 billion in total sales, with same-store sales up 8.6%.