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Added to the Archives This Week
Stereophile Staff  |  Jan 02, 2000  |  0 comments
Now that the big odometer has finally turned over, John Atkinson takes a moment to look back at the last 50 years of music reproduction—the era of high-end audio. Writing in "Happy New Audio Millennium," JA offers a little perspective on where audiophiles have traveled this last half century, and where we haven't.
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As We See It
Happy New Audio Millennium
John Atkinson  |  Jan 02, 2000  |  0 comments
The January 2000 issue of Stereophile is actually the last to be published in 1999, so, at the risk of adding to your millennial fatigue (footnote 1), it is appropriate to devote much of this month's magazine to navel-gazing. Robert Baird, Chip Stern, David Patrick Stearns, and Larry Birnbaum examine the state of recorded music, while in the first of two articles, Markus Sauer questions the beliefs that underpin the audiophile world. And this "As We See It" offers an overview of what used to be called "high fidelity."
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Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300 power amplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 27, 1999  |  0 comments
Nothing like scarcity to create demand, right? Well, there's been a scarcity of Nuvistors out there for decades, and hardly any demand. Do you know about the Nuvistor, aka the 6CW4? It was a tiny triode tube smaller than your average phono cartridge. Enclosing its vacuum in metal rather than glass, the Nuvistor was designed as a long-lived, highly linear device with low heat, low microphony, and low noise---all of which it needed to have any hope of competing in the brave new solid-state world emerging when RCA introduced it in the 1960s.
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Vote
How important are digital outputs on an SACD or DVD-Audio player?
Stereophile  |  Dec 26, 1999  |  105 comments

Sony has finally released SACD hardware, and DVD-Audio is promised for sometime next year, but none of the first players have digital outputs. Is this a problem for you?

How important are digital outputs on an SACD or DVD-Audio player?
Won't buy without 'em
44% (105 votes)
Extremely important
16% (38 votes)
Very important
10% (23 votes)
Kinda important
6% (15 votes)
Not very important
10% (24 votes)
Not important at all
5% (11 votes)
Don't care
10% (23 votes)
Total votes: 239
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News
Denon and Onkyo Sign with Digital Harmony
Stereophile Staff  |  Dec 26, 1999  |  0 comments
FireWire's prospects got a little hotter last week, as equipment manufacturers Denon Electronics and Onkyo announced new license agreements with Digital Harmony Technologies. The companies say that they have selected Digital Harmony to add standards-based IEEE-1394 (aka FireWire or iLink) interfaces to their product lines, and both companies expect to release Digital Harmony-powered products in 2000, each certified for compatibility with a number of 1394-based products made by other Digital Harmony partners in the US and Europe.
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News
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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News
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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