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…
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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.
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…
We kick off three speaker reviews from the September issue with Brian Damkroger's assessment of the Audio Physic Virgo III loudspeaker. A perfect meld of minimonitor and full-range bass extension? BD reveals all.
Michael Fremer tackles the "best-selling over-$10,000 loudspeaker in history," the Wilson Audio Specialties WATT/Puppy 7 loudspeaker. While MF can't verify how many pairs of WATT/Puppies have actually sold, he can verify why.
Next, we have Paul Messenger squeezing the new "superspeaker" Focal-JMlab Grande Utopia Be loudspeaker into his listening space. PM wonders, "Is the…
With multichannel DVD-Audio just around the corner, the surround-sound debate among audiophiles is starting anew. But how far have we come with surround sound in 30 years? J. Gordon Holt wrote "Bye Bye, Quadrifi?" back in 1971, in which he explored the same dilemmas faced by today's audiophile.
"One thing you have to understand: If you don't have ground, ya gotta get it!" exclaims Jonathan Scull in "Fine Tunes" #23. Scull offers sage advice involving RadioShack wire and water pipes for those living in renovated buildings.
When reviewing the EgglestonWorks Andra loudspeaker back in…
After a frustrating late-night duel with evil recording gremlins, JA called it a day. But the next morning he was back at the controls to record Canadian pianist Robert Silverman for what would subsequently become one of Stereophile's popular audiophile recordings: Intermezzo: Works for Piano by Brahms. In Intermezzo: The Santa Barbara Sessions, writer Thomas Norton runs down the key events that finally resulted in a completed analog master tape, with engineering from Water Lily Acoustics' Kavichandran Alexander.
With almost eight years of hindsight, it's now easy to observe that the…
Major music companies may have conspired to keep CD prices artificially high in the United Kingdom by limiting cheaper imports. That's the presumption behind an inquiry launched February 9 by the British government's Office of Fair Trade.
The OFT believes that the big labels may have "taken concerted action to limit the parallel importing of CDs into the UK from other (European Union) member states," according to a news story appearing in the February 10 edition of The Guardian newspaper. The OFT has officially requested information from seven music companies: Sony Music Entertainment UK…
Chip Stern writes, "There is something enduring and reassuring in the classic audio verities." The Vandersteen 2Ce Signature loudspeaker is certainly considered one of those timeless classics. But how does a speaker released in its first incarnation more than 20 years ago hold up by today's standards? Stern lends his modern ear to the task and includes notes from Richard Vandersteen himself.
Next we've got Jonathan Scull's Fine Tunes #28 from the October issue. "If you can't find enough material to keep you and your system spotlessly clean, I'll eat my shorts!" exclaims J-10 after…
The last day at CES always feels like one of those half-days at school: you may be getting out only a couple of hours early, but everyone starts thinking about going home way before the bell rings. Nonetheless, the die-hard audiophile exhibitors were working up to the last minute and confirmed that show attendance increased steadily right up to the end.
Inspired by a story on the importance of impedance matching by Hervé Deletraz that appeared in the November issue of Stereophile, PBN audio's Peter Noerbaek showed a prototype preamplifier and modified Everest power amp with what he called…
ShoreView Industries, Inc. has acquired MartinLogan Ltd., the Lawrence, KS–based manufacturer best known for its line of high-end electrostatic loudspeakers. Transaction terms have not been disclosed.
Gayle Sanders, MartinLogan's charismatic co-founder—and, until the acquisition, majority owner—will remain with the company as a consultant, according to The Lawrence Journal-World. The rest of MartinLogan's senior management and employees will remain in Lawrence, the paper reports.
ShoreView Industries is a Minneapolis-based private equity limited partnership that "invests in…