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Numbers Don't Lie?

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…

HE2003—Day One

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…

Added to the Archives This Week

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…

Finding Music Like the Music That You Like

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…

EMI, Virgin Records Endorse SACD

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…

B&W Puts Pressure on Transshippers

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…

Financial Roundup

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…

Industry Update

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…

Added to the Archives This Week

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…

Bringing Music Bits to Radios Everywhere

In another milestone for digital broadcasting, Lucent Digital Radio announced last week that it has successfully tested its In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) system, live and over the air, with National Public Radio (NPR) member station WBJB-FM of Lincroft, New Jersey. According to Lucent, the tests showed that there was no degradation of the host FM analog channel during the transmission of the digital FM signal over the same band.

Lucent says it began field-testing with WBJB-FM in April 1999 to evaluate a range of technical issues associated with digital FM radio…