To our dismay, and sometimes, discredit, few scientific studies of this learning process have been conducted or published. By-the-book engineering types frequently dismiss audiophiles' assertions that they can hear minute differences that are imperceptible to most people, a situation that has fueled one of the most contentious and long-…
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Audiophiles almost universally agree that hearing—or "auditory perception" to neuroscientists—improves with practice. That phenomenon would explain why many of us are able to hear differences between audio components that untrained listeners can't hear.
Every autumn, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) publishes its "Five Technologies to Watch" list of "technology trends poised to shape the consumer electronics industry" in the year ahead. Most of the choices may seem obvious, but the final entry on the list this year may be a surprise for audiophiles.
Geared toward industry professionals, "Five Technologies to Watch" provides a comprehensive analysis of each trend named and its impact on the consumer electronics market. Each of the five technology sections details the strategic issues, market forecasts, consumer perspectives, key…
Last month, we reported that audio engineers with a yen for magnetic tape were hoarding their remaining stockpiles in the wake of the Chapter 11 restructuring–inspired shutdown of the Quantegy plant in Opelika, Alabama. What a difference a month makes! Two new sources have come to the rescue.
Here in the States, there's, ATR Magnetics, a division of ATR Services, a company best known for refurbishing and updating studio-quality Ampex magnetic tape recorders. Actually, ATR Magnetics was created in response to the 2004 closing of the Munich BASF/AGFA manufacturing facility. The plan was to…
Several recent surveys on the Stereophile website have uncovered a surprising trend among audiophiles: Many of you are heading online to both used- and new-product vendors to make equipment purchases that have traditionally been made at specialty audio retailers.
While more consumer choice is almost always a good thing, it does put more pressure on smaller dealers, many of whom barely sneak into profitability each year. Our polling also reveals that audiophiles are increasingly willing to go out on a sonic limb to find components, with a whopping 68% of respondents saying that they have…
Gerhard Feldmann’s Bösendorfer New York is partnering with the Jazz Foundation of America to donate the legendary "Blue Note" Bösendorfer to the JFA's inaugural auction benefit, which will be held November 16 at the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York City. Auction proceeds will support JFA non-profit programs, especially working gigs and educational programs for victims of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
The Blue Note's Bösendorfer Half Concert Grand Model 225 has been hailed as making the Blue Note "the best-sounding room in the world." The list of pianists who…
Michael Fremer gets a chorus of oohs and ahhs as he sets up the Hovland Sapphire power amplifier in his listening lair. While the Hovland is certainly a sweet-looking amp, MF rightly points out that "looks alone don't sell hi-fi equipment in the specialty audio market—especially when you're asking $7800 for a 40Wpc two-channel amplifier."
Jonathan Scull hangs with the Balanced Audio Technology VK-150SE monoblock power amplifier. He recounts, "The BAT's well-formed, fast, big, and luxurious tube-driven bass fundamentals got my attention and kept it!" J-10 then reports on how the BAT…
John Atkinson and Cantus are at it again. Last June, John and Cantus, the Minnesota-based male vocal ensemble, traveled to Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, to record an adventurous two-volume Christmas CD. Comfort and Joy: Volume One is being released this week.
Comfort and Joy is a uniquely conceived Christmas project. The idea is to have each volume tell the Christmas story from a different perspective: Volume One focuses on the idea of Christmas comfort; Volume Two, to be released in September 2005, on Yuletide joy. Volume One features Gregorian chant, folksong arrangements, and…
Two scientists from McGill University—Daniel Levitin, a cognitive neuroscientist, and Stephen McAdams, a cognitive psychologist—and a professor from the College of New Jersey joined forces with the conductor and five members from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, not to mention 50 audience members, this past weekend to attempt to measure how people process music.
Conductor Keith Lockhart wore a specially constructed "conductor's jacket" (more of a shirt, actually), equipped with sensors that measured his heart rate, muscle movements, and other physiological responses as he led the orchestra.…
Running counter to the music industry's paranoia concerning the perils of modern digital technology, some musicians want you to share their music—within limits. GarageBand.com, which bills itself as "the world's largest musician community," announced June 7 that it now offers the Creative Commons Music Sharing License as an optional tag for all songs uploaded to its website.
Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org), a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to the "creative reuse of intellectual works—whether owned or in the public domain," has drafted a license that not only allows fans…
Streaming multiple channels of music has proven a big hit with satellite customers, so it seems natural that DMX---a subsidiary of TCI Music (soon to be renamed Liberty Digital), and the company responsible for bringing audio to 2.6 million dish owners---would move to the Internet. Last week, DMX announced a multi-year, multi-phase global distribution agreement under which the DMX music service will be transmitted on Lycos' network of websites.
As part of the alliance, DMX says it will be prominently featured as a major music programmer for the Lycos Radio Network, "enabling millions of…