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Like most Americans, US audiophiles have little idea how difficult life can be for people in other countries. Imagine facing official censure for possessing some innocuous pop music, or taking 12 years to accumulate the complete works of one of your favorite rock groups. That was life in the old Soviet Union for Stereophile colleague Leonid Korostyshevski, who flew to Istanbul from Moscow on short notice, so we could spend a few days together prior to my embarking on a sailing trip in the eastern Mediterranean. The visit cemented a long-distance friendship established through numberless…
As the saying goes, there are lies, damn lies, and then there are statistics. Statistics can be used to help understand what goes on in the world, but, as any marketing exec or PR company knows, they can also be manipulated to tell a particular story.
Two weeks ago we reported on the RIAA's latest, alarming assessment of the music market, which, they report, dropped another 7% in the first six months of 2002 compared to 2001. The RIAA blames digital piracy for their ills, and has taken a hardline position against any unofficial online trading or streaming of audio files.
But there…
The first day of the annual Home Entertainment shows is traditionally devoted to "trade" access only—that is to say, set aside for press conferences and dealer demonstrations (ie officially sanctioned schmoozing and cruising).
This year's event was far heavier on the real work of gleaning information from an unceasing barrage of press conferences than on the less arduous and more fun hanging out with the usual suspects.
Arduous is such a relative term, however, since this year's show actually produced a ton of interesting products and philosophies.
Sony had a huge…
In his second installment of "Fine Tunes," Jonathan Scull writes: "I met a chap the other day whose wife said to me, 'Oh, you suffer from the same audiophile disease.' I hastened to inform her that I am the disease." But J-10 is also the cure, as he proves in this ode to building the perfect listening room.
"There's nothing crueler in audio than asking an arm and a cartridge to track an ultra-dynamic solo piano recording. Actually, there is: asking a mastering engineer to try cutting it, a plating guru to plate it, and a pressing plant to press it." So writes Michael Fremer, who joins John…
Let's face it. Despite the vinyl resurgence amongst the young and not so, the days when analogus collecticus could spend hours scouring record bins, holding product in hand, and reading album notes, are mostly behind us. In response to market evolution, at least three competing computer-based technologies have emerged to steer consumers toward music they will likely enjoy. Each uses a different approach, with one claiming "objectivity."
Behold the Beast: According to Tim Westergren, founder of Savage Beast Technologies of Oakland, the company's 30 music professionals cum analysts spend…
The Super Audio CD has won the endorsement of two more major record labels, according to press releases issued the last week of August. The announcements followed by only a few days one by Universal Music Group that it would begin producing the high-resolution recordings for mass distribution.
UK-based EMI and Virgin Records will soon produce and distribute titles in the high-rez format. Neither announcement specifies when new discs will appear ("over coming months," reads the EMI announcement), but it seems likely that they will arrive sometime late this year. EMI mentions "successful…
The practice of "Transshipping"---selling a product outside one's designated territory---is widespread in the audio industry. It's commonplace for dealers to sell not only to walk-in customers, but also over the telephone or Internet to customers in other dealers' territories, usually at discounted prices. While not problematic on a small scale, the practice favors large-volume dealers over smaller ones, and is almost always a violation of a dealer's agreement with a manufacturer.
British loudspeaker company B&W, one of the most popular brands on the market, is aggressively pursuing…
By several common measures, the American economy appears to be emerging from its first recession in a decade. On Friday, April 26, the US Commerce Department reported economic growth of 5.8% (annual rate) for the first quarter. Gross domestic product (GDP), generally considered the broadest indicator of the economy's health, was the strongest since the final quarter of 1999. The 5.8% rate is especially encouraging in view of the 1.7% rate during the fourth quarter of 2001. The US Labor Department also reported a decline in first-time applications for unemployment benefits during the last…
Meet the new boss: Harman Specialty Group, the division of Harman Consumer Group responsible for the Mark Levinson, Revel, and Lexicon brands, has a new president. John Batliner is a 12-year veteran of the company, and, most recently, executive vice-president of HSG. Wayne Morris, current president of the company, will remain active until the end of April.
New requests: ReQuest, Inc. has announced new models and upgrades in its operating system software. An all-new reference music server, the S-Series S4.2500, which offers digital audio output as well as three additional balanced analog…
From the January 2004 issue, Michael Fremer writes about the "SUV-like, limited-edition, 20th-anniversary" Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista kWP preamplifier & Tri-Vista kW Monobloc power amplifier. No doubt the "bank-vault-like" designs will get your attention, but as Fremer discovers, after you close your eyes, it's "sheer sonic pleasure."
While SACD and DVD-Audio still try to get a little traction, John Atkinson notes that "CD is still the predominant means for audiophiles to get a high-quality musical fix." Thus, JA justifies reviewing the $6700 Mark Levinson No.390S CD Processor to see…