Coming across "the world's first digital loudspeaker" somewhere, one might expect that it must be a major technology revolution in the chain from nature, to bits, and back to nature again. It would also help ward off confusion in such a nascent product area if the phrase were used to describe a…
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This last year has seen several companies proclaim the launch of the "world's first digital loudspeaker." The term brings to mind some exotic new approach that is neither cone nor ribbon nor electrostat---something as different from all of those as, say, a CD is from a vinyl record or cassette tape.
Back in 1997, DVD-Audio was still miles away—and it may still be! But, as John Atkinson writes, "After a decade of stability, with slow but steady improvement in the quality of 16-bit/44.1kHz audio, the cry among audio engineers is now '24/96!'—meaning 24-bit data sampled at 96kHz. Not coincidentally, DVD offers audiophiles a medium with the potential for playing back music encoded at this new mastering standard." The dCS Elgar D/A processor was one of the first consumer units able to decode 24/96, and still stands as a benchmark product. JA gives the details.
More recently, dCS released…
Wandering around the show, we were struck by how good most of the speakers we were hearing were. Not just the cost-no-logic designs, but pretty much all of them. Are we audiophiles lucky or what?
The 7' Pipedreams with four (count 'em, four) subwoofers were sounding mighty impressive driven by an Audio Aero Capitole CD player ($8500) and a pair of $19,000 Tenor 75Wpc amps (a Plinius 250Wpc amp drove the woofers). The Pipedreams recreated the transient attack of a trumpet with such staggering realism that they could have probably blown out a candle with all that tightly focused air.
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The legal molasses in which MP3.com is mired got thicker and deeper in mid-March, when MPL Communications launched a lawsuit against the Internet music company. MPL, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney's publishing house, joined the attack begun months ago by the Recording Industries Association of America. McCartney's firm filed suit in a New York US District Court against the San Diego–based startup over copyrights on intellectual properties owned by MPL, whose catalog includes McCartney's solo work, as well as the works of Buddy Holly, Hoagy Carmichael, Sammy Cahn, and other songwriters and…
Things are looking up for high-resolution audio, with price drops for DVD-Audio discs announced by one major record label in a move to attract a larger audience.
In mid-June, Warner Music Group (WMG) issued a statement that it would begin pricing its DVD-A titles "as equivalent to CD pricing as possible." The decision means an effective reduction of 25–35% in DVD-A prices, according to the announcement. WMG believes that equivalent pricing will induce consumers to opt for the DVDs rather than the CDs, especially because Warner discs are encoded with Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks that can play…
With new music download services, including the move to higher resolutions, one vital question still remains for the music business: Will the majority of consumers prefer to continue purchasing music à la carte, one track or album at a time, or will they prefer to subscribe to an unlimited library?
It's an important distinction, and one that goes to the heart of the music industry's future business model. Companies that guess correctly will tap into the music-buying mind successfully, and continue to develop their online businesses. And there's always the possibility that both methods for…
English digital audio company dCS has announced a major change in its management and ownership structure. David Steven, marketing manager for the last four years, has purchased the majority shareholding in the company. Derek Fuller, who was the business manager, has left the company, while Mike Story, dCS's founder, will continue as chief digital designer. A dCS press release says that the change should result in "products and programs that have a much more customer-centric focus."
In other news, the dCS Verdi LaScala upsampling transport, one of Stereophile's two Joint Digital Products for…
They've been around for years, under a variety of guises and from an evolving list of manufacturers and distributors. But the BBC LS3/5a loudspeakers still cling to their legendary status. We provide not only J. Gordon Holt's original 1977 review for Stereophile, but also follow-ups from 1984, 1989, and 1993. Read about the little speaker that could.
Another hallmark of speaker design is the Uni-Q driver, put to use in the KEF Reference Series Model Four loudspeaker, reviewed by Thomas J. Norton in 1996. About the Uni-Q, Norton writes: "The advantages: a coherent radiator, free from…
If you haven't seen much in the mainstream press about the new satellite radio services from XM and Sirius, both poised to launch before the end of the year, you soon will. First out of the chute with the big media bucks, XM Satellite Radio unveiled last week its national advertising campaign called "Radio to the Power of X."
XM says it plans to spend $100 million in a national advertising push and "multimedia effort" anchored by a television campaign featuring musicians BB King, David Bowie, and Snoop Dogg. XM is also targeting traditional radio, magazines, newspapers, direct mail,…
Primedia has announced The Connected Guide To The Digital Home, the first consumer magazine dedicated entirely to adopting and integrating audio, video, information, telecommunications, security, and other personal and home technologies. Formerly known as Audio Video Interiors (AVI), the standard-bearer for the home theater revolution, The Connected Guide To The Digital Home is being introduced as the natural evolution of AVI.
Bill Gloede, previously editor of Mediaweek and Cable World, will assume the role of "Connected's" editorial director. Gloede, a noted industry arbiter of media…