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Canada Decides to Tax Blank Media
Jon Iverson  |  Dec 26, 1999  |  0 comments
In a move that is sure to enrage users of blank digital media, Canada's Copyright Board has finalized plans to add a levy of 5.2 Canadian cents on CD-Rs and CD-RWs, 23.3 cents on audio cassettes over 40 minutes in length, and 60.8 cents on MiniDiscs and recordable audio CDs. In a market in which blank CD-Rs used for computer backup typically cost less than C$1 each, this represents an increase of at least 5% per disc. Interestingly, DAT tapes are excluded from the tax, as they are not seen as a threat to the music business.
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News
NY Times Rekindles Cable Debate with "Circuits" Story
Barry Willis  |  Dec 26, 1999  |  0 comments
Do high-end cables make an audible difference? Or are they cosmetic enhancements, like fancy wheels on high-performance cars? The New York Times, the nation's foremost newspaper, took up the issue in a December 23 piece in "Circuits," its weekly technology section.
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Pioneer to Ignore Copy-Protection Issue, Will Launch DVD-A
Barry Willis  |  Dec 26, 1999  |  0 comments
Despite the recent defeat of DVD-Audio's copy-protection scheme (see previous story), Pioneer Electronics has decided to move forward with its plan to release two models of its high-resolution players in Japan. The announcement was made December 14 by company executives in Tokyo, who said that delaying the format's launch at this late stage could do irreparable damage to its acceptance by music fans. Super Audio Compact Disc, a competing format developed by the Sony/Philips alliance, is already beginning to win converts.
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Vote
Have you bought any DAD software for your home DVD player? How many discs have you purchased?
Stereophile  |  Dec 19, 1999  |  54 comments

In last week's Soapbox, reader Norman Tracy suggested that audiophiles not wait for DVD-Audio, but instead support the 24/96 DAD format, whose discs can be played on current DVD-Video players. Do you agree? Have you bought any DADs?

Have you bought any DAD software for your home DVD player? How many discs have you purchased?
1-5 DADs
19% (24 votes)
6-10 DADs
10% (13 votes)
11-20 DADs
3% (4 votes)
21-50 DADs
2% (2 votes)
More than 50 DADs
0% (0 votes)
Have player but no DADs
23% (29 votes)
Don't have compatible player
44% (56 votes)
Total votes: 128
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News
Audio Sales Not So Grim After All?
Jon Iverson  |  Dec 19, 1999  |  0 comments
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is reporting that factory-to-dealer sales of audio equipment posted strong gains in October, rising by 8% over last October's sales figures and eclipsing the $1 billion mark for the first time since 1995. The CEA says that growth occurred in all segments of the audio market except portable audio, sales of which remained consistent with last year's levels.
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News
Cello Acquires The Audible Difference
Stereophile Staff  |  Dec 19, 1999  |  0 comments
Last week, Cello Technologies (formerly Cello Music & Film Systems) announced that it had acquired San Francisco Bay area custom installer and retailer The Audible Difference. According to a statement issued by Cello, The Audible Difference was founded in Palo Alto in 1976 and serves over 10,000 clients in the Silicon Valley area, and has 30 employees, "all focusing on audio design and home-systems design engineering, integration, and automation technologies."
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News
Red Rose Music Acquires AudioPrism, Opens for Business
Barry Willis  |  Dec 19, 1999  |  0 comments
We've all heard of the entrepreneur who liked a product so much that he bought the company. Such bold steps are sometimes wildly successful. Case in point: Mark Levinson and his high-end startup, Red Rose Music.
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Nova Audio's CES Display to Offer Rare Glimpse at Mastering Gear
Barry Willis  |  Dec 19, 1999  |  0 comments
Almost beaten to death in the past couple of years by salesfolk, pundits, and journalists, "convergence" has been applied to the coming-together of audio and video, analog and digital, hardware and software, information and entertainment, and Democrats and Republicans. Among all these merging trends, the audiophile community rarely hears about the convergence of pro audio with the High End.
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News
Added to the Archives This Week
Stereophile Staff  |  Dec 19, 1999  |  0 comments
A common question in the audio newsgroups these days is, "Have you tried the new PS Audio Power Plant, and what did you think?" Stereophile's Robert Deutsch takes a seasoned look at the new product in his review of the PS Audio P300 Power Plant. Does it live up to all of the hype, and is it true that the P300 is "audaciously original in concept, yet makes so much sense that you wonder why no one ever thought of it before?" Mr. Deutsch explains.
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News
If You Build It, They Will Come . . .
Jon Iverson  |  Dec 19, 1999  |  0 comments
We're still waiting to see even one official US release of DVD-Audio software, but reports are trickling in that the recording industry is nonetheless planning for the multichannel high-resolution audio landscape. The latest bit of news comes from mastering facility Future Disc Systems, which announced last week that it is now mastering DVD-Audio projects, and will soon be ready for high-resolution surround sound.
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