Corey Greenberg and Sam Tellig each take a whack at the Conrad-Johnson PV10 preamplifier. Greenberg exclaims, "A sub-thou all-tube Conrad-Johnson preamp with circuitry derived from the company's most expensive models sounded like just the thing for Real World music lovers who still cling to…
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Dick Olsher and various other writers take a spin with the Apogee Stage loudspeaker, whose "resemblance to the rest of the Apogee family is unmistakable" in spite of its small size. But the real story is that, "surprisingly, the sound quality does not take a back seat to its more expensive relatives."
Although some won't openly admit it, plenty of audiophiles with nice systems also own iPods. And they are not alone. According to figures recently revealed by the Consumer Electronics Association, more than 152 million Americans, representing 70% of the total US adult population, own some kind of portable entertainment device.
While wireless phones and notebook PCs are the most common devices used to access handheld content, the CEA reports that portable music players are continuing to gain traction in the market, with household penetration at 15%, up from 11% in 2004. The study also finds…
Believe it or not, there are reportedly several "audiophiles" out there who still refuse to accept that an extremely expensive amplifier can justify its price. "For them, the very idea of a $20,000 pair of monoblocks must seem absolutely ridiculous," writes Wes Phillips. "All I can say is that they should steer clear of the Mark Levinson No.33H, or else risk having their tidy little hypotheses shattered into tiny little pieces." For the complete review, take a look at the latest equipment report to hit the Archives: Mark Levinson No.33H monoblock power amplifier.
We've all heard the…
Once again, audiophiles can help themselves and help others at the same time by participating in The Cable Company's 10th annual "Summer Against Hunger" campaign. The Cable Company and a wide cross-section of its vendors (listed below) have set up a program in which up to 10% of The Cable Company's August sales are donated to CARE and the International Rescue Committee, with contributions to be used to assist the worldwide disaster relief efforts of those humanitarian organizations. This year, the situation is more critical than ever.
The Cable Company's Robert Stein notes, "We dedicate…
From the March 2004 issue, John Atkinson finally gets to listen to the Sonus Faber Cremona loudspeaker and explains, "it took rather longer than I had expected to set the Cremonas up in my listening room. But, like everything worth experiencing, the wait was worth it."
Since we have just added the 2003 "Recommended Components" for purchase as indexed and searchable pdf files on the website, we include JA's "As We See It" from a few years back: "Recommended Components: The Stereophile Way." As Atkinson notes, "Recommended Components" is "the only place where the experiences of all reviewers…
Last night I saw him on the stair—
the little man who wasn't there.
I saw him there again today;
oh, how I wish he'd go away.
the little man who wasn't there.
I saw him there again today;
oh, how I wish he'd go away.
This childhood ditty about a malevolent, ephemeral figure pretty well sums up the audiophile position on watermarking: the mere thought of it is disturbing. Of the respondents to last week's Stereophile "Vote!" question, 90% say they hate the concept or plan to boycott watermarked music. That's quite a bit of animosity toward something that, at this point, is only experimental.
What's really disturbing is running up against your own inadequacies in…
The development of digital AM-radio technology moved a step closer last month when the Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen) (IIS) signed a consortium agreement for the development of digital AM radio with several international radio broadcasters, network operators, and manufacturers.
According to a consortium statement, the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) consortium "is committed to establishing the standard for new digital AM radio technology, improving reception quality and ease of use in the bands below 30MHz, the shortwave, medium-wave, and long-wave bands." Digital Radio Mondiale…
Youth may not be the only thing that's wasted on the young. Many recent studies have shown that as people age, they have increased difficulty getting a good night's sleep. A new study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing indicates that listening to soft music may help people with sleep disorders to fall asleep faster.
The study involved two groups of participants, between the ages of 60 and 83, who suffered from sleep disorders that manifested as depression, cognitive impairment, or medical/environmental problems that interfered with sleep. People who meditated or who used sleep…
Music publishing organizations such as ASCAP and BMI have long worked out licensing deals with radio broadcasters, who pay royalties in exchange for playing music over the air. A US Copyright Office panel is now suggesting that online broadcasters also pay royalties, this time directly to the record labels, in a recommendation that has so far left all parties unhappy, particularly broadcasters.
The Copyright Office ruled late in 2000 that royalty fees would be required from broadcasters who also stream their signals online, stating, "Transmissions of a broadcast signal over a digital…
The streak of acquisitions for D&M Holdings continues. Last month saw the company pick up its third major consumer electronics brand when McIntosh Laboratory was brought into the fold with Denon and Marantz. Last week, D&M announced that it was successful in a bid to acquire certain assets comprising the digital video recorder and MP3 business units of troubled SONICblue.
D&M Holdings says it will purchase the SONICblue assets, which include the ReplayTV and Rio brands, for $36.2 million. The bidding process occurred last week during an auction of SONICblue's assets in the US…