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RAM Goes Online

Roger A. Modjeski's RAM Labs and Music Reference electronics now have a home on the Internet.

On July 1, the 21-year-old company announced the opening of its online store, offering the full line of RAM Labs' tested and matched tubes, select Music Reference components and accessories, interconnects, and several passive preamp kits. Of particular interest to owners of Music Reference RM-200 amplifiers is an upgrade KT88 output tube claimed to be capable of better bass and damping than the original device.

RAM Labs online also stocks ultra-low-noise 12AU7s for CAT preamps and a…

Industry Roundup

Price fixing rumors squashed: On Tuesday, December 23, the US Department of Justice officially ended a two-year investigation of price fixing by major record labels, with a report that it had found no evidence to support any of the allegations. The investigation began in summer 2001 and concentrated primarily on online music service MusicNet, a joint venture by Warner Music Group, EMI Group, BMG Entertainment, and RealNetworks; and Pressplay, a joint venture by Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. The majors had been accused of conspiring to keep startups out of the online…

CEMA Sponsoring Product Return Conference

Returned products are problematic for consumers, retailers, and manufacturers. Returns have always eaten into profits in the audio and video business. Everybody knows that. What isn't widely known is that the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association sponsors an annual conference to help deal with the problem.

This year, Product Returns '98 will be held September 15 at the Chicago O'Hare Marriott Hotel. Co-sponsors of the one-day conference include the Professional Audio/Video Retailers Association (PARA), the American Hardware Manufacturers Association (AHMA), the Computing…

RIAA <I>vs</I> CEA Over DAB

The RIAA foresees that digital audio broadcasting (DAB) will represent a fundamental change in the radio industry. "It is not just a means of offering higher quality broadcast sound. DAB could transform radio into a vehicle for the distribution of huge amounts of information in digital form, including recorded music," says the trade organization. As a result, the group is supporting regulatory restraints on digital audio broadcasting (DAB) in reaction to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding DAB content control.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA…

Study Predicts $42.8 Billion Music Market by 2005

The global market for music could reach $42.8 billion within five years—more than $7.5 billion higher than the present level, according to a recent study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Wilkofsky Gruen Associates. In the about-to-be-released study, The Global Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2000–2004, the firms make their prediction based on buying patterns and other economic factors in several regions of the world.

The $42.8 billion projection is extrapolated from compounded annual growth rates varying from 2.8% in Europe to 4.8% in the US, which is expected to lead the world in music…

Music Industry Rebounding?

The recorded music industry may be emerging from the gloomiest period in its history. US disc sales have picked up for the first time in more than four years, and the global market for legal downloads is up by a factor of 10 from a year ago.

Through December 26, 2004, album sales in the US totaled 665.5 million units, a gain of 1.4% over 2003, according to figures compiled by research firm Nielsen SoundScan. The gain was a refreshing change for industry marketing executives, but was still something of a disappointment compared to the approximately 8% improvement in sales posted in the first…

Music Retailers Sue Sony; Virgin Demands Bigger Margin

The inclusion of "hyperlinks" in music CDs that direct music lovers to Sony-affiliated online sales sites has angered the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, a trade organization representing more than 1000 music retailers. NARM has filed suit against Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Coporation of America, seeking an injunction against the use of hyperlinks and charging that the practice of including the links in CDs is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Asking retailers to sell discs with such embedded links is the "equivalent of asking Tower Records to put posters for…

Jack English Joins <I>Ultimate Audio</I>

Myles Astor, publisher of Ultimate Audio, recently announced that former Stereophile contributing editor Jack English has joined his publication as a senior editor.

"Jack's razor-sharp, analytic reviewing style and insightful commentary are enjoyed by audiophiles worldwide. He will focus on the ultimate in high-end audio equipment," Astor said in a press release. "Jack has made many contributions to the industry, most notably helping formalize the language of audio reviewing."

Jack English has a long personal history with high-end audio journalism. He was one of the founders of…

Petersen Publishing Agrees to Acquire Stereophile, Inc.

On May 18, 1998, James D. Dunning, Jr., Chairman and CEO of the Petersen Companies, Inc., announced an agreement to acquire Stereophile Magazine and Stereophile Guide to Home Theater---two of this country's leading high-end audio and home-theater publications---as well as HI-FI '98, The Home Theater & Specialty Audio Show.

Upon announcing the agreement to acquire Stereophile, Neal Vitale, President and COO of Petersen Publishing, said, "This acquisition continues Petersen Companies' focus in enthusiast markets. The acquisition of Stereophile Magazine and Stereophile Guide to Home…

Golden Note Awards Bestowed at HI-FI '98

On Wednesday evening, June 10, The Academy Advancing High Performance Audio & Video held its 1998 Golden Note Awards at the Marina Del Rey Ritz-Carlton. Following an address by John Hoskins of the Advantage Performance Group, a sales consulting firm, the amiable awards ceremony was MC'd by Paradigm's own stand-up comedian, Rob Sample. AAHPAV's ceaselessly energetic Chairperson Sue Regan assisted in the presentations, as did Academy President Joe Picirilli. And the hard-working winners (drum roll, please) are . . .

Analog Source Design
Grado Reference Series Phono Cartridge,…