Tiger Electronics has also sold truckloads of HitClips players at just under $20 each. But unless you happen to have kids under the age of 12, you've probably never heard of the format—and for good reason. HitClips are so far below the high-fidelity radar that audiophiles…
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Where Pogs and Pokemon once ruled, HitClips have taken over. HitClips are hot. So hot, in fact, that Hasbro Incorporated's Tiger Electronics division has sold more than 20 million of them at $3.99 each. That's $80 million gross on a single product, a figure that probably no high-end audio company has ever reached.
The age of digital music downloads has begun in earnest. On July 20, EMI Recorded Music announced that it has signed a deal with Digital On-Demand and its subsidiary, RedDotNet Inc., to make the EMI catalog available for downloading to kiosks in music stores. The kiosks will be equipped with CD "burners" where customers can copy EMI recordings not in stock in the stores. They will also be able to print out the original cover art and liner notes. Discs can be copied at high speed in 5 to 15 minutes using RedDotNet's technology, the announcement noted.
"We are happy that EMI shares our…
After enduring frustrating delays, XM Satellite Radio announced the successful launch last week of its first satellite, which the company has named Rock. XM reports that lift-off occurred off the Sea Launch Odyssey Launch Platform in the open waters of the Pacific Ocean on the equator, and that the first signals from the satellite were captured by a ground station in Australia a little over an hour later, as planned.
The launched satellite is the first of three 702 models built by Boeing Satellite Systems, with its 10,284 lb. (4666 kg) payload lifted to geosynchronous transfer orbit by a…
The received wisdom has it that among the billions of humans on earth, no two have identical fingerprints, no matter how closely related they are.
Neither do audio recordings. Despite stylistic similarities, all musical recordings have differences in pitch, tempo, timing, and melody. Researchers at Royal Philips Electronics, NV have exploited this phenomenon in the development of what they are calling an "audio fingerprinting" system that may enable anyone to quickly identify the name of the song they are listening to, its performer, and other important data.
A three-second snippet…
The Andra, Stereophile's 1997 Product of the Year, will soon be back. So will the Rosa, the Fontaine, the Isabel, and the Ivy Reference—in fact, the full line of EgglestonWorks loudspeakers will be shipping soon to dealers, now that the company has been rescued from extinction. EgglestonWorks had been in legal limbo for most of the year as creditors wrangled over its future.
The good news for EgglestonWorks fans came on November 1, when Memphis, Tennessee-based EgglestonAudio LLC announced the acquisition of the assets of EgglestonWorks Loudspeaker Company. EgglestonAudio will…
Several weeks ago, we reported on the revival of McCormack Audio by Bill Conrad and Lew Johnson, who purchased the company's assets at an auction in Southern California. This past week, McCormack Audio has announced that one of the original co-founders, Steve McCormack, has rejoined the company as Director of Research and Development. McCormack had worked at the company from its inception in 1982 until 1996.
So how did the first few days back at the job go? "We just had a very intense week back at headquarters in Virginia," said McCormack from his office in Southern California. "We spent…
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.
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…
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…