Anyone who's been shopping recently won't be surprised to learn that China is now the biggest supplier of electronics to the US. Within the past three years, the massive Asian nation has surpassed Japan, Mexico, and Korea to claim the top spot. During the same period, US exports of high technology have dropped 25%, according to figures released June 19 by the American Electronics Association, now known as "AeA."The group reported that US high-tech exports sagged to $166 billion in 2002, with a $54 billion high-tech trade deficit on the books as of the end of last year. The situation has adversely affected many American high-end audio manufacturers, who for years relied on robust Asian sales for a large part of their revenue.MusicNet has become the first online music service to embrace dual formats. On June 11, the company announced that it would make its 350,000-title music library available in Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series (WM9) format as well as RealNetworks' RealAudio. Distributed only by America Online, MusicNet is backed by AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann, and EMI, with support from RealNetworks. "The addition of Windows Media 9 Series gives MusicNet a clear advantage in offering music fans high-quality audio tracks through our distribution partners," said MusicNet president and CEO Alan McGlade. "This announcement furthers MusicNet's strategy to build a flexible suite of service offerings that are customized for each distributor." The move is part of a general game of catch-up being played by online providers in the wake of Apple Computer's startling initial success with its iTunes music service. Record labels are said to favor WM9 because of its robust digital rights management.
Norwood, MA–based Atlantic Technology has made some organizational changes in the expectation of improving customer support, sales training, and product development, according to announcements from corporate parent OAC Group the first week of June. Headed by Oscar Ciornei, management and consulting firm OAC recently purchased a majority share of Atlantic Technology. Minority shareholder Peter Tribeman is now chairman of the company, which will be beefing up its customer support staff with as many as five new workers by spring 2004, according to Ciornei.The company is also streamlining its product development and production systems with greater efficiency in mind. Part of that effort includes moving assembly of sub-$2500 home-theater speaker systems offshore. Atlantic's 8200 and 6200 series speakers are both shipping after missing original delivery dates. In June, Steve Feinstein was named Atlantic's manager of product development. According to an Atlantic Technology press release, prior to joining Atlantic Technology, "Feinstein was head of product planning for home audio at Boston Acoustics, where he had served for the past ten years." He also spent 12 years at Bose and Panasonic in a wide range of sales and marketing roles.Atlantic Technology is one of several companies who are tackling the SACD/DVD-A bass management problem head-on. At HE 2003, the company showed a mockup of an audiophile-quality two-channel receiver with built-in bass management for high-rez audio sources. Peter Tribeman said he expects the new receiver to begin shipping sometime this fall.
Integra already has a multichannel receiver on the market with bass management capabilities. The $1000 DTR-6.4 delivers 100W into six channels and offers a host of features, including a powered Zone 2, video conversion, and advanced DVD-A and SACD bass management. "The subwoofer crossover is selectable at 40Hz, 60Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz, 120Hz, or 150 Hz for optimal integration with any speaker arrangement. This feature can also be bypassed with Integra's exclusive Pure Audio Mode for the ultimate in analog signal fidelity with full-range speakers," stated an early June press release.Threshold Audio is offering a trade-in—or trade-up—program on its new S/5000e amplifier. Any audiophile who wishes to take advantage of the summer promotion can get $1000 credit on an S/5000e simply by exchanging an old amplifier. The S/5000e delivers 250Wpc into 8 ohms, and was launched last month at a special introductory retail price of $2500.The trade-in/trade-up program follows a similar one launched last year that allowed owners of the popular Threshold T series amplifiers to have their amplifiers rebuilt to the equivalent of the new flagship STASIS amplifiers. "We heard from owners of earlier amps who said 'I really love Threshold—when are you going to have an upgrade for my model?'" explained Threshold vice president Kevin Lee. "Obviously, there was no way to develop upgrades to current models from all the different amplifiers that Threshold has made since its founding in 1974, so we decided to set up an exchange program. But in doing that, the question came up, 'why restrict the program to Threshold owners? Let's include all the audiophiles in America with equipment that they would like to upgrade.'"
Lee says the new program is "simple and totally inclusive: send us any amplifier manufactured by Threshold—or any other high-end amplifier—and you will get $1000 off our new S/5000e. Best of all, this credit can be applied against the S/5000e's special introductory retail price. The only restrictions are that you must be a US resident and the unit must be a 120V model; the amplifier does not even need to be in working condition." Read that last sentence carefully—your dead, unsaleable amp could be worth a cool grand. For more information, call Threshold at (713) 466-1411.Stereophile Senior Contributing Editor Michael Fremer's MusicAngle website is now up and running. Devoted to great music well recorded, MusicAngle delves into both the artistic and technical backgrounds of the releases it covers. As expected, vinyl gets plenty of attention, but Fremer and crew don't short CDs or hi-rez titles. What's good is good, the old adage has it, and MusicAngle tells you why. The current issue includes in-depth examinations of Van Dyke Parks' Song Cycle, the reissued Dark Side of the Moon, Kathleen Edwards' recent Failer, and the Classic Records' reissue of Cannonball Adderley's timeless Somethin' Else, as well as interviews with Joan Armatrading and producer Joe Boyd. Under the "Info" button is a concise explanation of what happened to The Tracking Angle, the paper journal. Audiophiles will find MusicAngle a welcome addition to their web reading, right after their weekly visit to Stereophile.com, of course.
