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New Blogs & Audiophile Clubs

Rarely does a day pass when Wes Phillips doesn't send his pals a bunch of emails with links to stuff he's found while Web surfing. Frequently it is audio-related, but even when it's not, there's usually something there worth checking out.

So it seemed a natural to turn him loose on you, the Stereophile reader. Check out his blog, where he'll post the highlights of what he finds, when he finds it. Looks to me like he's not going to say much with each post (he doesn't in his emails), but as they say, a link is worth a thousand words.

Also new on the website this week is the Audiophile…

Added to the Archives This Week

Michael Fremer wraps his ears around the Westlake Audio Lc5.75F loudspeaker in an effort to figure out "what's a pro audio company doing at CES?" Fremer discovers why a brand that, until recently, was rarely heard outside of recording studios is now selling 70% of its products to consumers.

As Barry Willis reports in his "As We See It" from November, The Search for Musical Ecstasy, there are hobbies out there easily crazier than high-end audio. Don't believe it? Willis does some comparison shopping.

Also from the November issue, we present John Marks' The Fifth Element #5. Marks…

Audio Cables Without the Wires

There are a myriad surefire ways to get audiophiles riled. Just bring up $350,000 tube amps, iPods as serious audio devices, or SACD versus DVD-Audio versus DualDisc versus iTunes.

Or mention expensive audio cables that use deviant technology.

Much of the fervid debate about analog audio cables centers around whether or not different types of wire and shielding techniques do indeed sound different—especially if they cost a lot.

But Jim Wang of Harmonic Technology has found that what really makes a difference is eliminating the wire and its need for shielding altogether. His…

iTunes 6.0.2 Is Watching!

Apple's release of its latest version of the iTunes software for Macs on January 10 promised "stability and performance improvements" over the 6.0.1 version already in existence. It also included a new iTunes MiniStore feature that "watches" what you click on your library or playlist and, when you double-click on a selection to play it, changes its display to reflect "matches" you might consider purchasing. This means that iTunes 6.0.2 is sending your now-playing information to an outside server.

When Sony did that, we consumers screamed bloody murder.

In Apple's defense, the "feature…

Online Oasis for Marantz Classic Audio Fans

Musician, martial artist, and electronics whiz Ben Blish has loved audio since he was a little kid staring into the glowing tubes of his father's Scott hi-fi equipment. Thirty-four years after catching the bug, he still nurtures it daily.

Blish is one of many audionuts who are keen on classic Marantz equipment. Most such hobbyists are content to collect a few rare pieces, or assemble a mint-condition "classic system." Blish has done that, but he's also gone a huge step further: he's built an online temple to Marantz gear of the 1960s and '70s. His Marantz pages---part of an extensive…

VQF Digital Audio Format Enjoying Renewed Interest

Fans of Macintosh computers and Betamax videotape are fond of pointing out that in the free market, the best technologies don't necessarily win. That scenario may be playing out again in the case of VQF, a digital audio transfer and storage technology originally developed several years ago by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone.

Officially dubbed TwinVQ, the system was licensed to Yamaha for its SoundVQ player and its SolidAudio portable. Over the years, interested engineers and hobbyists have developed several software utilities, encoders, and players for the format. Its adherents claim VQF…

Resistance is Futile

As any major college dude will tell you, the file-sharing genie can never be put back into the digital audio bottle. But that hasn't stopped the music business from pursuing its scorched-market policy while simultaneously applying various use-restriction technologies to every digital audio format in sight.

Quit while you are only slightly behind, say four researchers from Microsoft who recently weighed in with their provocative analysis: The Darknet and the Future of Content Distribution. The paper defines the "darknet" as a collection of networks and technologies used to share digital…

Musicians' Site Signs Beatles Producer George Martin

The man who signed the Beatles to their first recording contract has joined garageband.com, an online venture for musicians. On October 21, the San Francisco-based website announced that Sir George Martin has assumed the position of chairman of its advisory board. The board's membership includes some of the music industry's best-known professional and creative talent, according to garageband.com co-founders Tom Zito and Jerry Harrison.

Harrison is a record producer and former member of the rock band Talking Heads. The site was launched in September, with the goal of identifying the best…

Digital Radio: Big Development for 2001

Radio will finally go digital in 2001. Among the oldest analog media, radio will be the last to make the transition, but it should make much faster headway in the market than digital television has. Satellite digital radio broadcasters XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. are both on schedule to go live in the coming year, aided by partnerships with automakers to make digital receivers available as options in new cars. A strong automotive aftermarket for digital radio receivers is expected, with some industry insiders predicting that the first models will…

Another Hot Season for Audio Products

The healthy trend for the audio market continues: the Consumer Electronics Association reported last week that revenues from factory shipments of audio products to dealers this February increased by 8% over last February, to a total of $542 million. "The fantastic sales in February spurred the year-to-date total for audio sales to more than $1 billion; a 6% increase over the first two months of 1999," said the CEA.

According to the CEA, the portable audio sector posted the largest increase in the month, climbing 16%, to revenues of $135 million. The CEA says that contributing to the…