search
Back in the spring of 1986, I was visiting a hi-fi show in Lucerne, Switzerland. In the KEF/McIntosh/Perreaux room, I was engaged by a voluble American, who wanted to talk about the changes I was making with the English magazine Hi-Fi News. The conversation shifted to the hotel bar, then to a restaurant. The American was one Tony Federici, who at that time was distributing Perreaux gear in the US. With an education in the philosophy of science, Tony's comments were insightful and challenging. He was never at a loss for an opinion! After I moved to the US to take the editorial reins at…
Rotel's newest: Rotel is venturing into the power conditioner market with two new components developed in conjunction with APC (American Power Conversion), a company with a long history in power-protection: the $1599 RLC-1080, which offers internal battery backup, and the $499 RLC-140. Both models offer system protection against spikes, brownouts, over-voltages, and RFI noise. Both also offer protection for coaxial, telephone, and Ethernet hook ups, as well as audible warnings and text displays.
The biggest difference between the two Rotel power conditioners is the RLC-1080's internal…
Audiophiles may bemoan the convergence of computers and high-fidelity equipment, but it's a trend apparently as unstoppable as the earth's progression around the sun.
Every once in a while, however, an announcement appears to encourage hope that the computer audio experience will eventually transcend its typical limitations. Case in point: a recent press release from Dolby Labs and Intel Corporation about a cooperative effort to promote "Intel High Definition Audio," an improved PC audio experience based on Dolby surround-sound technologies.
The partners are launching a new "…
Recent moves by record labels to add restricted-use technology to their compact disc releases has raised the ire of many a consumer, leading some to call for boycotts or worse (see this week's Soapbox). Late last year the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) issued a statement saying that the major labels have gone too far in restricting consumers' "fair use" of copyrighted material.
In spite of the gathering storm, Universal Music Group has announced its intention to add restricted-use technology to all of its releases by mid-2002, while other labels have been testing…
Extra-terrestrial radio is poised to celebrate Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday. From Wednesday January 25 through Friday, January 27, XM Satellite Radio will broadcast live performances by many of the most celebrated Mozartians of our time direct from the Carolino Augusteum, a 17th-century castle and former home of the Archbishops of Salzburg that overlooks the Salzburg Cathedral and the Mozart Platz. Artist interviews and sound portraits of the Salzburg milieu will spice up the proceedings.
Culminating with a live broadcast of Salzburg's "official" Mozart Commemoration Concert, XM…
Is bigger better? Michael Fremer sets out to determine just that as he reviews the Pass Labs XA160 monoblock power amplifier. As Fremer explains, "While the industry-feminizing tiny triode set has made a great deal of noise in the past few years (I can hear them hissing now), soft-walking, big-stick-carrying, mega-power amplifiers still circle the globe."
Next, Michael Fremer decides to take on the legendary Linn Products LP Playing System. "A legend can be intimidating, especially when it's also a classic, a revolutionary, an iconoclast, a survivor," remarks MF as he gets to work.
As…
On May 1, Niles Audio Corporation, Inc., manufacturer of audio/video custom installation components, announced that it had "successfully defended its indoor/outdoor speaker line against would-be imitators."
According to Niles, CSI/Speco (Component Specialties, Inc.) of Amityville, New York engaged in selling loudspeakers that were virtually identical to Niles' OS1 and OS5 models. In response, Niles filed a trade-dress infringement lawsuit.
In January, Niles succeeded in obtaining a temporary restraining order prohibiting CSI/Speco from exhibiting the OS lookalikes at the Consumer…
Citing increasing competition from stronger companies and online music ventures about to debut from major record labels, an investment group has taken the drastic step of calling for the sale of Liquid Audio.
The Redwood City, CA–based online music service has seen its market valuation slide steadily from a peak of about $1 billion in November of 1999, which was also the peak of the dot-com hysteria. In early September of this year, the company was valued at about $53 million. Its revenue has dropped quarter by quarter with no indication that anything would change the trend. Revenue has…
The last few weeks have been a roller-coaster ride for CD copy-restriction developer SunnComm. The company was riding high in early September when it was announced that BMG and Arista had chosen its MediaMax CD-3 Technology to restrict how discs are used.
Then came the revelation last week that a simple trick could bypass the SunnComm process, and the company's stock, which trades on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board, quickly tanked, losing more than $10 million of its market value in days. What caused all the trouble was a Princeton University grad student's report issued last Monday…
"We are now well past the era in which every review of digital playback equipment had to begin with an apology for the medium," writes Thomas J. Norton. As a case in point, TJN takes the Mark Levinson No.37 CD transport & No.36S D/A converter out for a couple of spins.
John Atkinson and various other Stereophile scribes weigh in on the Spica Angelus loudspeaker. "Why do I seem to prefer the bass featured by sealed-box loudspeakers?" asks JA as he gets to the (you should pardon the expression) bottom of the Angelus' sound.
JA goes on to interview the Angelus' talented designer…