The investment was seen by many industry observers as an indication of MP3's growing importance and potential as a consumer audio format. A compressed music-file format (whose full acronym stands for Motion…
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Upstart digital audio format MP3 received some heavy-duty validation with the announcement on Wednesday, April 27 by Thomson Multimedia SA that it has made a 20% investment in MusicMatch Inc., a maker of MP3 player and management software. "Jukebox," as the software is known, is used to play, encode, and manage MP3 files. Thomson makes RCA, ProScan, and Thomson brand electronics.
T+A adds tubes and analog to SACD: German high-end manufacturer T+A has announced its new, tubed, $9500 D10 SACD/CD player. The D10 incorporates many of the same components found in the company's SACD 1245R, including the disc mechanism and DAC However, the D10 contains two more powerful power supply sections, a toroidal transformer with a secondary switching section for its digital parts, and a high-voltage mains section with 100,000µF of reservoir capacity for its analog tube stage.
The D10 boasts eight D/A converters, four per channel, in symmetrical push-pull mode. T+A's American…
When audiophiles speak of "imaging," they may not be using the term metaphorically. Recent research at the University of California at San Diego's School of Medicine indicates that hearing and vision are more closely related than had been previously thought.
Experiments described in the journal Nature seem to prove what stage directors and filmmakers have long known: that sounds can enhance the ability to see things clearly. "We found that what people hear significantly influences what they see," said lead researcher John McDonald. His team investigated the responses of 33 volunteers,…
Last week, CDDB announced a newly designed, more user-friendly website for its large database of audio CD information. The database resource now provides free information on more than 360,000 CDs, which the company describes as the world's largest online CD music database. There are over 40,000 entries in the classical CD database alone, with rock logging three times as many entries at 126,000. The database gains about 500 new entries every day. Users can search by artist, album, or song title, and then cross-reference titles to other artists or discs.
Ann E. Greenberg, CDDB senior…
The most common complaint about record companies: CD prices are too high. In fact, many blame Napster's runaway success on the insistence of "greedy labels" on pricing discs at $15 or higher. Apparently BMG Direct, a division of BMG Entertainment, has put two and two together and found it equals $9.99.
Last week, the company announced that it has launched OnePriceCDs, a new website that BMG claims offers more than 12,000 CD titles from a variety of music genres for a single price of $9.99 each, and multi-unit CD sets at $8.99 per CD. All prices include shipping and handling.
But is…
Robert Deutsch warms up the Audiopax Model Eighty Eight monoblock power amplifier to hear what famed Brazilian designer Eduardo de Lima has to offer. Deutsch notes, "The Audiopax Model Eighty Eight represents the latest refinement of de Lima's thinking about power amplifiers."
Next, J. Gordon Holt gets his hands on the Audio Research SDP1 multichannel music processor. Holt exclaims, "For those of us who have succumbed to the enticements of surround sound for music, Audio Research's SDP1 is both vindication and cause for rejoicing."
Starting in 1968, JGH began his relationship with…
In August, the future looked cloudy for Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. Despite the eventual commercial promise of satellite radio, the startup suffered from massive debt accrued during its development and from a slow initial subscription rate. Company officials had discussed a possible bankruptcy filing if additional financing couldn't be found.
The clouds parted for the company on Thursday, October 17, with a stock move that raised approximately $200 million in cash–enough to keep it operating through the second quarter of 2004.
A "recapitalization" agreement orchestrated by Sirius…
In a move that it says is designed to position it for "continued growth and leadership in the consumer electronics field," the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) unveiled last week its new incarnation: the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). The announcement comes on the heels of a decision, made earlier this week by the Board of Governors of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), to allow separate incorporation for its sector associations.
CEA president Gary Shapiro proclaimed "Goodbye CEMA. Hello CEA. CEMA has served us well, but CEA better reflects the…
From the March 2004 issue, Kalman Rubinson files his report on the Adcom GFA-7805 five-channel power amplifier. KR notes, "It was easy for me to decide on their top-of-the-line five-channel powerhouse, the GFA-7805, because it embodies the same spirit that the GFA-555 did in its time: lots of power, no frills, good value."
Then Rubinson files the latest installment in his multichannel series, "Music in the Round #4." "For audiophiles who love multichannel music, the center-channel speaker is a problem second only, perhaps, to that of bass management," observes KR, who also assesses the…
From the March 2001 issue, Michael Fremer finds that, although homely in appearance, the Herron Audio M150 monoblock power amplifier has several endearing qualities. As Fremer explains, "Herron approaches the marketplace in a cautious, stealthy manner, working from the ground up to grab the ears of audiophiles." MF tells us where this amp grabbed him.
Also from the March issue, Kalman Rubinson drops the unique Bel Canto eVo 200.2 power amplifier into his system and analyzes the results. Based on "Class-T" digital amplifier technology from Tripath, the eVo was, Rubinson found, "…