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Retailing: Mixed Results

Is retailing headed up or down? North America's two largest electronics retailers have reported vastly different results for the second quarter.

Best Buy, the region's largest retailer, is riding an updraft. The electronics giant doubled its net earnings in the second fiscal quarter, reaching a total of $139 million, a huge leap from the $62 million reported for the same period in 2002. Earnings from continuing operations grew more than 75%, to $140 million, up from $79 million in the second quarter last year.

The Eden Prairie, MN–based retail chain enjoyed 17% revenue growth in the…

New Onkyo CD Recorder Will Debut at CEDIA

CD recorders are the hottest ticket in audio at the moment. Philips and Marantz once dominated the category, but other manufacturers have recently jumped on board with their own versions, among them Pioneer and Harman/Kardon. Onkyo will introduce its DX-RD511 dubber later this month at the 1999 CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis. The machine is expected to arrive in stores in October—just in time for the holiday season.

The $700 twin-transport machine offers several features not found on other recorders. The DX-RD511 not only records on any type of blank CD, but its two transports can be used…

Houston Internet Company Will Bring MP3s to China

Houston's InterWeb Design has signed a joint venture agreement to bring MP3 audio to China. The three-way agreement, finalized in late February with a Chinese investment company and the Chinese government, will establish the first government-approved MP3 site in China.

Beijing Artists Online L.L.C. will launch an English-language Chinese MP3 music site similar to the popular MP3.com within 60 days, with a Chinese-language site to follow in about 120 days. The agreement stipulates that every Chinese song posted on the new site be approved by the country's Ministry of Culture, despite the…

Ribbon Cochlear Implant Directly Stimulates Auditory Nerve

A University of Michigan research team under Kensall D. Wise has developed a ribbon-like cochlear implant that substantially increases the amount of auditory stimuli over the current models. Approximately 100,000 patients have had cochlear implants to ameliorate profound deafness; however, Wise described these implants as limited in frequency sensitivity, as well as bulky and difficult for surgeons to insert.

Wise, who is J. Reid and Polly Anderson Professor of Manufacturing Technology, a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and director for the Center for Wireless…

CES 1999 Wrap-Up: January 11, 1999

The most important issue facing the high-end audio crowd at this Show is the looming battle for high-resolution audio formats. DVD-Audio and SACD posturing was everywhere, with SACD probably displayed the most. But it was a relief to see that manufacturers were starting to consider putting both SACD and DVD-Audio processing in a single box, thus making the choice for consumers much easier. This means that the makers of disc players are not forced to choose sides, and are able to please everyone. It allows consumers, as well, to make a single-player choice and be covered for the coming…

HE2004 Seminars Announced

The Home Entertainment 2004 Show (HE2004) is coming to NYC May 20–23, 2004 at the Hilton New York Hotel & Towers. HE2004 is open to the public—consumers will not only have the opportunity to see, hear, and demo the finest high-performance products consumer electronics has to offer, they can also attend a dozen free educational seminars on a variety of topics and enjoy live music daily from jazz and blues artists during relaxing breaks for lunch. The educational seminars and music luncheons will be offered all three days of the Show. Seminars will be moderated by some of the consumer…

Added to the Archives This Week

While decidedly "niche products," as Martin Colloms describes them, single-ended (SE) tube amplifiers have still found a happy home in many audiophile systems. But a trap awaits those who wish to evaluate the differences between an SE and a solid-state or push-pull tube amplifier, or between two SE amps. In "The Unseen Variable," Colloms digs to the bottom of this complicated matter.

While reviewing the Vandersteen 3A loudspeaker, Tom Norton explains the difference between mainstream audio companies and their audiophile cousins. Hint: The mainstream companies make their yearly changes on…

Telarc’s Higdon SACD Wins Major Award

Telarc's stunning hybrid multichannel SACD of Jennifer Higdon's City Scape and Concerto for Orchestra has received the 2005 OutMusic Award for Outstanding New Instrumental Recording. The disc has also received the 2005 Grammy for Best Engineered Classical Recording (well-deserved by Jack Renner) and 2005 Grammy nomination for Best Orchestral Performance (equally well-deserved by Higdon champion Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra).

Higdon's recognition marks the first time in their five-year history that the annual OutMusic Awards, which celebrate excellence in lesbian, gay,…

Radio Stations Must Pay for Webcasts, Copyright Office Rules

American radio stations which stream music programming over the Internet may be facing substantial outlays in royalty fees paid to record companies, under a December 8 ruling by the US Copyright Office, a division of the Library of Congress. After months of legal wrangling, the office decided that radio stations are just as liable for such fees as other music sites. "Transmissions of a broadcast signal over a digital communications network such as the Internet are not exempt from copyright liability," the ruling states.

Disagreement over royalties has pitted the National Association of…

Dr. John at HE2006

The Home Entertainment 2006 Show, June 1–4, 2006 in Los Angeles at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, has announced a special benefit concert to support the Elf Foundation, a non-profit charity that creates Rooms of Magic—private entertainment theaters in children's hospitals that bring the enchantment of uplifting music and film to seriously ill children around the country. A portion of the concert admission will go to the Elf Foundation to support its wonderful work.

The benefit concert will feature Dr. John—pianist, singer, and songwriter whose music, which defines and often combines the blues…