Microsoft has jumped into the DAB market and says it will collaborate with industry players to boost worldwide usage of the technology. The software giant announced last week its membership in the World DAB Forum, an international group of 80…
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Radio has been getting a new lease on life, with Sirius and XM satellite services, DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), and Internet "stations" popping up in the tens of thousands. With the Clear Channelfication of North America's FM and AM airwaves, many would argue that the timing couldn't be better for launching new broadcast technologies.
An intriguing loudspeaker technology which generates believable surround effects from only two small enclosures will be arriving at stores later this year, according to a February 24 announcement from Nirotek America Corporation.
Prototypes of the system, jointly developed by MartinLogan of Lawrence, KS and Japan's Mechanical Research Corporation, were demonstrated at the Specialty Audio exhibit at the Alexis Park complex during the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show. Both Jon Iverson and I were impressed at the system's ability to create a wide, deep soundfield using only one small speaker…
Many audiophiles agree that dedicated AC circuits can make notable improvements in the performance of hi-fi equipment. If you are planning to run a dedicated AC line, JPS Labs has a product for you.
The Depew, NY–based technology company has announced a UL-approved audiophile-grade AC cable for use within walls. The Power AC In-Wall is a flexible 10-gauge cable with very low capacitance and inductance, and is designed for maximum noise rejection thanks to a construction technique called Optimized Field Matrix (OFM).
The Power AC In-Wall AC cable is based on JPS Labs' high-current…
Ultra-high-resolution audio formats like the Super Audio Compact Disc and DVD-Audio are just around the corner, but music lovers' CD collections will never be obsolete if companies like dCS have anything to do with it. The British electronics company, noted for its high-quality D/A converters, has introduced a 24-bit/192Hz upconverter that is claimed to elevate the performance of ordinary 16/44.1 CD to near DVD-Audio level.
The Purcell, as dCS has designated it, is "the first high-precision Digital Upsampler designed specifically for audiophile use." The device is said to "increase the…
With the advent of Dolby Digital, DTS, DVD-Audio, and SACD, multichannel audio and its enthusiasts are not lacking for playback formats. What has been lacking, however, is recognition for outstanding achievements in the fledgeling surround music business. But not anymore.
The first annual Surround Music Awards (SMAs) took place earlier this month at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The ceremony, hosted by Grammy Award winners Al Schmitt and Ed Cherney, recognized winners in 15 categories, including the first ever Surround Pioneer Award, to engineer Elliot Scheiner. Scheiner…
If a recent announcement by the nation's largest radio broadcaster is any indication of a trend, independent music promoters may be on their way to extinction.
On April 8, Clear Channel Communications announced that it would not renew deals with "indies," as independent music promoters are known in the business, when current agreements expire this coming summer. Should other broadcasters follow suit, by this time next year the music industry's relationship with radio could be permanently altered. San Antonio–based Clear Channel has approximately 1200 stations.
The independent…
John Atkinson asked "What's that noise?" He wasn't referring to the piano that Robert Silverman was playing for Stereophile's recording, Concert, but rather to the sound of candy wrappers in the concert hall. The recording survived the crackling ordeal, but the lady with the wrapper did not. JA relates the entire story, and also serves up additional details about the making of the double CD set.
Back in 1996, in one of his first reviews for Stereophile, Michael Fremer wrote about the ever-popular Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamplifier. As Fremer wrote at the time, "more than 15,000…
The number of two-channel Super Audio Compact Discs seems to grow by the week. There are now several hundred titles to choose from—and hundreds on the way, with the recent endorsement of the format by major record labels. Even so, there are still very few SACDs that exploit the multichannel capabilities of Direct Stream Digital.
Chesky Records hopes to change that. The audiophile label has announced four new SACDs recorded in multichannel surround sound. They are Bucky Pizzarelli's Swing Live, David Johansen's David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, Christy Baron's Steppin', and Chuck…
DVD-Audio and SACD are offering record companies a chance to re-release their back-catalogs of "classic" material once again. But the results will not necessarily resemble the CD re-releases of the last two decades. Artists, producers, and labels now have an opportunity to go beyond the standard "re-mastered for (insert new format here)" process when updating an older title for DVD-Audio or SACD. For better or worse, they can entirely remix the master tapes for multi-channel surround sound.
DTS says it is doing just that for its re-release of Queen's 1975 classic A Night At The Opera as…
There may be thousands of audio manufacturers around the world, but there are only a handful of ways for them to sell their products. These include your traditional bricks-and-mortar dealer network (everything from small audio boutiques to mass-market chains), the online or mail order retailer, direct sales via the Web or catalog, or direct sales via a company store.
Although it has been put to successful use by mass-marketers such as Bose and Sony, the last approach has rarely been seen in the high-end audio business—until Red Rose opened shop in front of the Whitney Museum in New York a…