The domestic intrusion caused by the necessary cabling in hardwired systems prevents many potential converts from joining the multichannel camp. A reliable, good-sounding wireless surround system could be the audio industry's next great leap…
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Anyone who has experimented with wireless local area networks for audio—feeding rear/side speakers in a multichannel system, for example—can attest that the technology is far from ready for prime time. Prone to noise, interference, and dropouts, wireless audio systems require a tremendous amount of refinement before they'll meet audiophile standards.
We Get Letters Department: Stereophile editor John Atkinson recently received the following email from Tony Fisch, the director of corporate development at MusicGiants: "MusicGiants (www.musicgiants.com) will be the first company to offer high-fidelity downloads from all record labels. MusicGiants uses Microsoft WMA 'lossless' codec (450kbps) to preserve 100% of the music. The result is music that sounds just like the artist intended. Finally, real music downloads up to 1100kbps. MusicGiants' downloads will be $1.29 per track, and $15.29 per album.
"I read a quote by Wes Phillips in Randy…
Strange but true: Stereophile editor John Atkinson once sold a tweak amplifier after being startled by not being able to identify it in a blind listening test. "Convinced by these results of the validity of the Consumer Reports philosophy, I consequently sold my exotic and expensive Lecson power amplifier, with which I had been very happy, and bought a much cheaper Quad 405---the biggest mistake of my audiophile career!" says JA of the experience.
In an effort to get to the bottom of the problems with blind listening tests, JA started hypothesizing that blind tests themselves might skew…
The shock news on November 18, 1998---that the highly regarded British speaker brand Mordaunt-Short was to be closed down (see previous story)---seems to have achieved the desired result. On December 30, Audio Partnership plc announced it was acquiring the Mordaunt-Short brand from TGI plc (Tannoy Goodmans International).
Audio Partnership is the manufacturing/sourcing division of the Richer Sounds Group, the largest specialist hi-fi retailer in the UK, with around 30 stores nationwide. AP's Chief Executive, James Johnson-Flint, described Mordaunt-Short as "The perfect partner for our…
Efforts to restrict the ways consumers use music they have purchased continue unabated. SunnComm (along with its sales and marketing arm MediaMax) has announced that its "newest patent-pending passive technology makes it even more difficult to bypass or 'hack' the copy protection structure contained on the MediaMax CDs."
MediaMax says its new "passive protection solution" continues to be Red Book and Blue Book compliant, adding that this means that CDs containing the MediaMax restriction technology can also sport the Compact Disc Enhanced CD compatibility logo.
SunnComm's Eric…
The music industry is reportedly preparing to open a new front in its war on piracy.
This time, the enemy isn't commercial, for-profit websites offering free music downloads with a ton of paid advertising. It's individual music fans eager to share their stashes of tunes.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is preparing to file copyright-infringement lawsuits against those it determines are the most egregious file-sharers on the Internet, according to reports in early July. The purported move against individuals follows successful copyright litigation against several…
The Silverdale by the Bay Resort Hotel in Silverdale, WA, will be the site of the second annual Vacuum State of the Art Conference, scheduled for August 21-24. The conference will feature new and vintage equipment, tube electronics seminars, a used-gear swap meet, and demonstrations of audio creations by both amateur and professional designers.
A three-day course in tube amplifier design will be given by Electronic Tonalities in the nearby town of Poulsbo following the conference.
A highlight of the event will be a performance by the Paul deLay Blues Band on Sunday evening in the…
We kick off our anniversary collection with 40 Years of Stereophile: What Happened When. Editor John Atkinson recounts the complete history of Stereophile, starting in 1930 when J. Gordon Holt heard his first sound in North Carolina.
Next, JA tries to get a handle on important audio industry milestones with 40 years of Stereophile: The Hot 100 Products. Atkinson notes, "There are many factors that make an audio component 'important': design innovation, sound quality, sales figures, influence on other designers, influence on the evolving market, influence on system synergy."
But…
Owners of Apogee Acoustics loudspeakers are apparently being left to twist in the wind by a/d/s/, the company that took over Apogee and subsequently shut it down (other than to apply the brand to a range of switch-mode power amplification modules). Service will no longer be available for the ribbon speakers, according to Apogee owner Matt Carnicelli.
Carnicelli is seeking to organize an Apogee Acoustics Users Group in the hope of convincing a current manufacturer or former Apogee technician to set up a repair facility and stockpile spare parts. "Otherwise, when our ribbons go, so do the…
Record label attempts at restricting the potential uses of their CDs have hit another bump in the antipiracy road. Music label BMG had announced earlier this year that it would try to find ways to restrict its CDs, in an effort to stem piracy and the trading of MP3 files. But those plans appear to have backfired, so far.
BMG found itself in hot water again last week as European consumers began to return "defective" copies of the company's release of Natalie Imbruglia's White Lilies Island, which had been treated with a restriction technology from Midbar Tech called Cactus Data Shield.…