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HI-FI '98 Product Previews, Part Four

Hundreds of manufacturers will be demonstrating state-of-the-art audio products at HI-FI '98---some of which have never before been seen by the public. We're running several announcements each week leading up to the Show to give you a taste of what to expect. Here's the fourth assortment:

Martin-Logan
A major treat for Showgoers: a chance to hear Martin-Logan's new top-of-the-line model, the Statement---Evolution 2. Martin-Logan has used the "Statement" name before to identify their flagship model, and the "Evolution 2" suffix denotes radical changes from its predecessor.

A…

FCC Cracks Down on "Microradio"

The Federal Communications Commission is fighting an epidemic called "microradio." The agency has closed 250 unlicensed stations in the past year, most of them low-powered urban pip-squeaks with less than 100W of power and broadcast radii of 10 miles or less. The typical microradio station offers an off-center perspective on local, national, and world events to a listenership of a few hundred people, and loses money in the process.

The Commission has often expressed its belief that "the airwaves belong to the people," but the wave of consolidations that swept through the broadcasting…

Broadcasters vs. Web Royalties

On Wednesday, September 11, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) filed a brief with the U.S. Copyright Office seeking relief from the implementation of a webcasting royalty schedule announced this summer by the Librarian of Congress, James Billington. In June, Billington determined that commercial stations streaming their musical programming on the Internet should pay a rate of .07 cents per song per 1000 listeners, a rate less than half that suggested by the music industry–backed Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel.

The NAB has asked for a postponement of royalty collections…

American Mobile Radio Boosts Capacity

Digital radio company American Mobile Radio Corporation announced last Wednesday that it has exercised a $52.9 million option to upgrade its satellites. The move will potentially double the channel capacity of AMRC's nationwide satellite-direct audio radio service (SDARS), scheduled for the year 2000.

AMRC will use two geosynchronous communications satellites made by Hughes Space & Communications, Inc. "The Max Power satellite is the most powerful commercial satellite available today," said Pete Lauenstein, AMRC Program Manager for Hughes. "It is the new standard for robust…

After Long Absence, Threshold Will Return to CES

After three years in limbo, Threshold will make an official return to the audio market at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show. The new company's initial emphasis will be on professional equipment with crossover appeal for audiophiles, according to Threshold's former national sales manager Chris English, a principal in the new venture. A name for the new company has yet to be decided.

English has been quietly but diligently working to revive Threshold since financial problems scuttled the company in late 1997. A service center—which will be folded in with Threshold's new manufacturing…

Rounder Records Signs Net Deal with Liquid Audio

The Rounder Records Group, one of the largest independent record labels in the US, has signed on with Liquid Audio for digital music distribution on the Internet. As of April 28, Rounder will offer a substantial portion of its catalog for sale by digital download.

More than 10,000 songs by hundreds of folk, blues, bluegrass, reggae, and zydeco artists will be made available for promotion and sale to music lovers via the Internet. The Rounder catalog is also available to retailers and music sites to resell to consumers through Liquid Audio's distribution services---including www.rounder.…

June 1 Marks Transition for <I>Stereophile</I>

James Dunning, Jr., Chairman and CEO of The Petersen Companies, Inc., announced June 4th the completion of the acquisition of Stereophile 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.

The Petersen Companies announced in a release on May 18, 1998 that they had agreed to acquire Stereophile, Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, and HI-FI '98. The acquisition was completed on May 31, 1998. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

However, readers can rest…

Audio Device Promises New Highs in Lows

There's not a lot of music in the bottom octave, and there's not a lot of information in the low bass of a movie soundtrack. But there is a lot of power down there in the rumbling subterranean region—power that adds palpable realism to every type of home entertainment. That's why we go to extremes in our search for low-frequency reinforcement: full-range loudspeakers, and multiple subwoofers, and digital room-correction systems.

You can never have too much bass, some people believe. Guitammer Company, a Westerville, Ohio startup, is taking low-frequency reinforcement to the next level:…

Added to the Archives This Week

Amplifier of the year? We'll have to wait until the votes are tallied in the December issue, but Paul Bolin reviews the Halcro dm58 monoblock power amplifier and reveals what the fuss is all about. As Bolin notes, "the sheer audacity of Halcro's claims generated much curiosity and interest."

Michael Fremer was eager to get his paws on the Lumen White Whiteflame loudspeaker, in spite of its hefty price of $38,000/pair. MF says, "Rarely has the debut of a new loudspeaker company and its inaugural model created as big a buzz as did Lumen White and their Whiteflame speaker at the 2001…

Fortuna Offers Pre-loaded Classical Server

On May 4, Fortuna Classical Music announced release of their Maestro music server, "the first and only music player for the classical music enthusiast." Maestro's launch coincides with a major two-page centerfold spread in the June issue of Gramophone magazine's North American edition, followed by a single-page Gramophone advertisement in July that will include a promo CD.

Designed specifically for classical music lovers and audiophiles, the Maestro hard-drive player comes loaded with a proprietary software-management package that includes everything necessary to navigate and manage a…