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Are order and justice coming to the lawless frontier of the Internet? The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers has a new tool for cracking down on unauthorized use of copyrighted material on the Internet. Developed by Online Monitoring Services, EZ-Seeker is "web crawler" software that tracks down music and then issues license forms to the users of that music. The announcement followed by less than a week the news (see previous report) of the Recording Industry Association of America's $750,000 settlement from makers of unauthorized "DJ compilations" of hit songs.
Flexibility is the name of the game as Theta Digital plays it. The innovative Agoura Hills, CA company has announced the Casablanca II, a modular upgradable preamp/processor for music and cinema applications, as well as two-channel modules for its Dreadnaught power amplifier.
Improvements on the original Casablanca include circuitry for Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES Matrix soundtracks, 24/96 DACs on nine channels, and up to 12-channel output (including up to five subwoofer outputs). The original Casablanca featured nine channels. Theta also says that the unit will soon accomodate up to 12…
It's the ultimate talent show each year, and I don't think you'll find a bigger collection of musical firepower under one roof (Live 8 was outdoors after all): Paul McCartney, U2, Madonna, Gorillaz, Mariah Carey, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Sly Stone, Herbie Hancock, and on and on.
But how many of Stereophile's readers watched the Grammy Awards this past week? I see two hands. The numbers across the US were not much better, trailing even the poor ratings of the last few years.
Our view from the box seats. (Cameras aren't allowed at the Grammys, but someone from our group snuck one…
The combination of accessible world music and transparent sound featured on Let Your Voice Be Heard, the CD released in 2001 by male-voice choir Cantus, made it an audiophile favorite. Stereophile editor John Atkinson returned to Minnesota earlier this year to record Cantus for a second time. This time, however, the program was very different: an ambitious sequence of choral works illustrating a musical and poetic progression from grief and sorrow to consolation and joy, following the tragic events of September 2001.
On its new CD, Against the Dying of the Light (CTS-1202), Cantus takes…
A comprehensive set of reviews awaits those interested in learning everything there is to know about the legendary Quad ESL-63 loudspeaker. Writers checking in with analysis, background, and opinion include J. Gordon Holt, Anthony H. Cordesman, Sam Tellig, Martin Colloms, Larry Greenhill, and John Atkinson.
Robert J. Reina claims, "Polk Audio is the Rodney Dangerfield of high-end audio." As he asks in his review of the Polk Audio RT25i loudspeaker, "Why does this conscientious, innovative, and well-organized company garner no respect from hard-to-please audiophiles?" Reina's here to set…
The official launch of XM Satellite Radio was set for September 12. But within hours of the September 11 attack on New York and the Pentagon, XM announced that it would be postponing its debut, which was slated to take place in Washington DC at its headquarters and broadcast studio complex.
The new launch date is Tuesday, September 25 and the $9.99 a month service officially begins at 1pm. XM says that its radios can now be purchased at consumer electronics retailers throughout the San Diego and Dallas/Fort Worth areas and that it will activate customers' radios in these markets prior to…
Mergers and acquisitions are among the oldest tactics for commercial ventures that want to increase their power and presence. They are also increasingly popular in the non-commercial sector, according to a March 14 Associated Press report.
Public radio stations are engaged in an unprecedented expansion program, the report notes, with broadcasters buying new stations faster than ever. From 1998 through 2000, only one public radio station changed hands per year, but in 2002 six did so. This year promises even more activity, with four deals already pending. On a small scale, the M&A…
Now that satellite radio services XM Radio and Sirius Radio have their "birds" in position, they are encountering a slew of unexpected roadblocks here on earth. Among the problems: loss of signal in tunnels and urban canyons, interference with wireless communications, and a lighting technology that emits strong radio waves close to the broadcasters' assigned bands.
The satellite services have discovered that drivers lose their signals when they enter tunnels or when driving among tall buildings. To overcome this, XM and Sirius plan to deploy terrestrial "repeaters," local transmitters…
John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band's 1971 album Imagine has now been remixed and remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, supervised by Yoko Ono, and will be reissued in a new version on vinyl, CD, and cassette by Capitol Records on March 28. The re-release precedes the April 11 release of a behind-the-scenes DVD documentary, Gimme Some Truth—The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album, which attempts to examine the creative process that took place at Lennon's home recording studio during the legendary 1971 sessions.
At the beginning of Gimme Some Truth, Yoko Ono explains that "it was…
Digital perfectionists Meridian obviously pulled out all the stops on their new flagship speaker product, the DSP8000. Checking in at $45,000/pair, the eight-driver Digital Active design is expected to hit the market sometime in March. Meridian claims the three-way powered speaker has a 24/96 digital input on the back and processes the digital signal internally with two 100MHz DSP engines operating with 24/192 resolution. Also on display were the new DSP33s, also Digital Active but more modestly priced at $4500/pair.
MartinLogan had their new $10,000/pair Prodigy electrostatic speaker on…