Among the shocking details on the tapes: AJ admits to evaluating a dozen or so sets of speakers using a poorly biased 21-year-old tube amplifier from the company McLewintosh. McLewintosh was sold to some Russian investors two years back, and AJ allegedly lost interest in the equipment at that point. In print, however, he claims to have been using the latest…
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In a covert sting operation launched by Stereofool's competitor, Big iF magazine, 24-bit/96kHz tapes have just surfaced revealing a conversation Stereofool editor Acker Johnson (AJ) had with a local dealer in used audio equipment.
Consolidation is a fact of modern corporate life, but the consumer electronics industry has generally bucked this trend and remained relatively fragmented. Notable exceptions include Harman International and Rockford Corporation (which recently acquired loudspeaker manufacturer NHT)—now it's time to add D&M Holdings to that sparse list.
Two weeks ago, D&M, parent company of Denon and Marantz, announced that it was the high bidder for the ReplayTV (digital video recorder) and Rio (MP3) business units of the bankrupt SONICblue. One month previously D&M gobbled up McIntosh. Now…
Slow beginnings are sometimes the most successful. Months after its acquisition by Chicago-based Music Direct, legendary audiophile record label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab plans to release Super Audio Compact Discs this winter.
One of the first will be a high-resolution version of Patricia Barber's popular Modern Cool, due to appear in late February, according to MoFi's director of new technology, John Wood. MoFi has worked closely on the project with Barber's label, Premonition Records, also based in Chicago. The release will be part of a MoFi "soft launch" that will eventually include…
While Universal's heavily publicized attempt at CD price reduction didn't pan out as hoped last year, there is evidence to suggest that CD prices may be slowly moving downward.
The NPD Group is reporting that the average price of CDs in the US has now reached a low of $13.29, versus $13.79 in 2003. The researchers say that a similar pattern was observed for the top 50 sellers in the early part of 2004, when the average price was $13.36 nationwide, a drop of 3.1% versus a year earlier.
NPD says it is also finding that the decline in overall average price for physical full-length CDs…
This week, XM Satellite Radio launches Classical Confidential, a series of hour-long artist profiles. Modeled after XM's Artist Confidential series, in which listeners can get to know high-profile artists "up close and personal," per XM, the new show's first installment features an hour with Sony BMG's favorite male violinist, the sweet-toned, extremely gifted Joshua Bell. Subsequent shows will feature the magnificent mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli and conductor Leonard Slatkin.
Classical Confidential is hosted by XM's knowledgeable classical music program director, Martin Goldsmith, former…
Once upon a time, holiday shoppers fought over Cabbage Patch Dolls and Beanie Babies.
This year, they're going to the mat over iPods. The world's most popular portable music player is in short supply, leaving many potential gift buyers disappointed. Apple Computer has been unable to keep up with demand for the sleek little player, a Stereophile "Recommended Component." Most models are on back-order, and most retailers are completely out of stock, according to retailing reports that appeared in mid-December.
Among sources where you are unlikely to find an iPod in time for Christmas…
Stick it in your wall: Polk Audio has introduced three new subwoofers aimed at the custom installation market. The $600 CSW88 is a sealed in-wall model featuring dual 8" long-throw, shallow-basket woofers mounted behind a metal pressure plate. Its enclosure is constructed from MDF with 1/8" aluminum panels. It is designed to fit within standard stud-wall construction, measuring 60" (H) by 13.5" (W) by 3.5" (D). Rather than a grille, the CSW utilizes a vent, which, not at all coincidentally, measures the same as a standard 10" by 4" heating vent. Inputs on the top and bottom of the enclosure…
The first National Critics Conference in US history took place May 25–29 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Subtitled "Critical Unity in Critical Times," the gathering brought together US and Canadian members of organizations devoted to visual arts, dance, jazz, classical music, and theater criticism.
The conference began with a keynote address, "Seeing the Critic as Critical," delivered by producer, director, and social activist Norman Lear, whose credits range from All in the Family’s infamous Archie Bunker to the recent purchase of Concord Jazz/Fantasy Records. The more than 450…
Houston, Texas-based AstroJams is back online with Grateful Dead MP3s. The site shut down its offerings of Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band downloads after receiving a cease-and-desist order from attorneys for Grateful Dead Productions in April. At issue was the site's use of advertising to generate revenue. GDP claims the sole legal right to commercial benefits stemming from the use of the band's music and logos, but had "never objected" to the free sharing of music in the Dead tradition, according to Dennis McNally of GDP's publicity department.
AstroJams' founding partner and…
The High End has reached a new low, one characterized by "existential angst." That's how Lawrence M. Fisher of the New York Times describes the industry's ongoing malaise. In a well-researched and well-written piece that appeared last Thursday, July 9, Fisher cites "demographic and economic issues beyond its control and technological trends that threaten its very relevance." He mentions the economic crisis in Asia---destination for a large proportion of American high-end audio products---as a major contributing factor to the stagnation in which much of the industry is mired.
He also…