LATEST ADDITIONS

Barry Willis  |  May 02, 1999
Upstart digital audio format MP3 received some heavy-duty validation with the announcement on Wednesday, April 27 by Thomson Multimedia SA that it has made a 20% investment in MusicMatch Inc., a maker of MP3 player and management software. "Jukebox," as the software is known, is used to play, encode, and manage MP3 files. Thomson makes RCA, ProScan, and Thomson brand electronics.
Stereophile Staff  |  May 02, 1999
Last week, CDDB announced a newly designed, more user-friendly website for its large database of audio CD information. The database resource now provides free information on more than 360,000 CDs, which the company describes as the world's largest online CD music database. There are over 40,000 entries in the classical CD database alone, with rock logging three times as many entries at 126,000. The database gains about 500 new entries every day. Users can search by artist, album, or song title, and then cross-reference titles to other artists or discs.
Stereophile Staff  |  May 02, 1999
Reuters has reported that Sony Corporation is experiencing a 20% drop in profits this year, brought about by poor showings from audio and video product sales, slow markets, price wars, and a lack of hit records. The report also stated that the electronics sector, which normally generates the bulk of Sony sales, saw operating profits decline by more than half compared to the previous year.
Barry Willis  |  Apr 30, 1999
The night after we got home from the 1999 Consumer Electronics Show in January—see the report in this issue—my dear companion and I attended a performance of Madama Butterfly at San Francisco's beautifully refurbished War Memorial Opera House. It was a Tuesday evening, traditionally a big event for the Opera's benefactors. From our box seats, we had an excellent view of a production musically sumptuous and visually austere—and of a sea of gray and balding heads.
Doug Cline  |  Apr 25, 1999

Reader Doug Cline just bought a new La-Z-Boy and likes the way it feels, but wonders about its effect on the sound. What do you prefer for listening?

What do you sit in when listening to your system?
An overstuffed chair
7% (20 votes)
A normally stuffed chair
17% (51 votes)
A La-Z-Boy
12% (34 votes)
An unstuffed chair
6% (17 votes)
A couch
37% (109 votes)
A bench
0% (0 votes)
A rocking chair
2% (6 votes)
Other . . .
14% (42 votes)
Chairs are for wimps---I stand!
3% (8 votes)
I sit on the floor
2% (6 votes)
I lie on the floor
0% (1 vote)
Total votes: 294
Jon Iverson  |  Apr 25, 1999
Last Month, music labels, distributors, and retailers met in Las Vegas for the 41st annual National Association of Recording Merchandisers convention to wrestle with several new issues wrought by the digital age. NARM Chairperson Rachelle Friedman set the tone for the event when she stated in the keynote address that "for the music industry, the 21st century and the impact of the Internet have already thrust themselves upon us."
Jon Iverson  |  Apr 25, 1999
Every week we get an e-mail or two from online readers begging for a state-of-the-art set of searchable weblinks on the Stereophile website. Starting this week, your e-prayers have been answered. The Stereophile website now sports one of the Internet's most comprehensive set of qualified audio and video links---as of last count, they number more than 2500. The database is searchable in a variety of ways, and also groups similar categories.
Stereophile Staff  |  Apr 25, 1999
Toronto-based Lenbrook Group announced earlier this month that it had acquired NAD Electronics from AudioNord International, a Scandinavian organization that has owned the brand for most of this decade. The deal is expected to close next week, on May 3. Lenbrook will take over NAD's worldwide marketing and distributorship, but AudioNord will continue to market the brand in Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Scandinavia. Other joint marketing ventures will follow, according to Lenbrook's public relations agent.
Stereophile Staff  |  Apr 25, 1999
We posted an update on Peter Belt and his activities earlier in the month, but the saga began many moons ago. If you're curious about where it all began, or just need to know more, then J. Gordon Holt's "L'Affaire Belt" is for you. Stranger than fiction? Guaranteed.
Barry Willis  |  Apr 25, 1999
The Grateful Dead were the most enduring and most worshipped of all the rock groups who originated in the San Francisco scene of the 1960s. The Dead spawned Deadheads, a global family of loyal followers, who lived for the communal high of Dead concerts, where recording by fans was encouraged by the band and its management. Deadheads continue to share recordings of those concerts through a vast network, including several websites. Until recently, at least two of the sites had been providing MP3 transmissions at no charge.

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