Yet her death was not even reported by her hometown newspaper, The New York Times, and to our chagrin, we remained unaware of…
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It is with regret that we belatedly note the passing of Joanna Nickrenz, one of the most respected American producers of classical recordings, on February 9. Within the small world of those who passionately care about the sound of recorded music, Ms. Nickrenz, along with her partner Marc J. Aubort, was a legend. Many audiophiles—including Stereophile's editors—considered the names Nickrenz and Aubort on a project a guarantee of natural, dynamic, accurate sound.
As with past HI-FI Shows, we asked visitors to HI-FI '98 to vote for the room that offered what they thought to be the best sound. The ballot in the Show Guide asked visitors to list the best, second-best, third-best, and worst sounds, for which I allocated 3 points, 2 points, 1 point, and -1 point, respectively. Any exhibitor that received more than 0.7% of the total votes cast is listed in the Table. I've tried to include both the exhibitors and the brands demonstrated, as listed in the Show Guide and in our report text in the September issue of the paper Stereophile. My apologies if I'…
It's rare to find people praising a competitor in this hi-fi business, but I first met John Michell soon after one of his biggest rivals had described him as an "engineer's engineer." Memorably, he'd be the first port of call for anyone in the UK who wanted something done properly and without compromise. Another competitor described him as quite the nicest person he'd worked with, and a naturally gifted practical engineer.
After apprenticeship John started out on his own, beginning by applying his skills in the film industry. He built the model Discovery spaceship for Kubrick's 2001: A…
Companies that thrive do so by adapting to a changing market. Sony is revamping its manufacturing and marketing plans in an attempt to become both more efficient and more responsive to consumer needs.
On June 7, Sony Corporation announced that it would begin operating its Japanese manufacturing plants 365 days a year, using the same number of assembly workers presently employed. The new plan should reduce parts inventory and shorten time to market, company executives believe. Plants will run year-round, with workers functioning as teams who show up together for each shift. Full-time…
Following on the heels of its announcement last week of the first commercially available DVD-Audio disc (Swingin' for the Fences, by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band), Silverline Records says that Aaron Neville will become the first major artist to release an album in the format. Silverline expects that, on October 24, Neville's solo album Devotion will be released on DVD-A. The disc will also include audio tracks compatible with standard DVD players.
Clearly pleased to be treading new ground, Neville says that he is "very honored and excited to have Devotion released as one of the first…
As digital distribution grows, the protection of copyrighted material---music, film, video, photographic images, paintings, drawings, and text---becomes ever more important. Tied to this are widespread concerns about maintaining security during online transactions---keeping credit-card numbers and customers' identities hidden from would-be thieves.
Several organizations are working to establish standards for electronic security. An umbrella organization, the Copy Protection Technical Working Group, consisting of technical representatives from film studios, the recording industry, and…
Last week, www.stereophile.com posted an article concerning Pollara, Inc.'s Canadian Recording Industry Association–commissioned 144-page report on the downloading habits of Canadian music consumers. We reported that the University of Ottawa's Dr. Michael Geist interpreted the Pollara data differently than the polling group did, in particular noting his conclusion that people who had downloaded music had legally purchased more music than their counterparts who had never done so.
On Wednesday, March 22, John Atkinson received—and forwarded to me—an email from Duncan McKie, president of…
Larry Greenhill writes: "I can't resist reading about a company's flagship loudspeaker—the price-no-object product that embodies the most advanced ideas from a company's research and design department . . . The cost? Don't ask." Six years in development, the Dynaudio Evidence loudspeaker is just such a cutting-edge product. So, Greenhill explains, "when the opportunity arose to review the Evidence, the flagship speaker from Danish company Dynaudio, I eagerly agreed." His verdict awaits.
Next we've got Robert Deutsch's review of the Avantgarde Acoustic Uno Series Two loudspeaker from the…
San Francisco, CA—May 2003—The Home Entertainment 2003 Show and Primedia are giving away a full home theater system valued at $15,000!
The contest will take place during the Home Entertainment Show June 6-8, 2003 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Entry forms will be available on the Mezzanine level and ballot boxes will be placed throughout the exhibit floors.
One lucky winner will receive the following components:
Mitsubishi
Platinum Series WS-5551
55" rear projection HDTV
(retail value $3299)
NHT
Evolution T6 Tower
…
Madrigal's Proceed line of high-end audio products will be phased out some time later this year, according to an April 3 press release.
The company has decided to combine its top-tier products under the Mark Levinson brand name, with Proceed's best and most successful products—including the AVP2+6, CVP2, HPA2 and HPA3—to be redesigned for a closer cosmetic fit with the Mark Levinson line. "There will be no effort to hide the fact that the new models wore the Proceed badge in their previous lives," the announcement stated. "They have always been Mark Levinson at heart . . . their…