Last week, Philips Components and Bang & Olufsen announced that B&O will utilize some Philips' wireless technology in the…
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Although it sounds like a disease resulting from poor dental hygiene, Bluetooth is a recently established wireless standard aimed at small-form–factor, low-cost, short-range radio links between mobile PCs, mobile phones, and other electronic devices such as speaker systems. Although there were a few bumps in the road as the standard became established, Cahners In-Stat Group predicts that 1.4 billion Bluetooth-based devices will be shipping annually by 2005.
When it comes to dynamic range, it's the little things that count. As Texas Instruments explains, "Dynamic range is a parameter that expresses numerically how accurately sounds of small amplitude can be reproduced without distortion." In other words, the higher the dynamic range, the higher the quality of the sound, especially at low levels.
With this in mind, TI announced last week a new Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) which, it claims, offers the industry's highest dynamic range and which is intended for use in high-end audio equipment. TI says the new PCM1792 utilizes the company's…
If you find yourself spending more time in a car seat than in your audio system's sweet spot each day, the trend pairing high-end audio companies with car manufacturers may offer a little relief. Lexus made a big splash last year by incorporating Mark Levinson technology into its latest cars, joining collaborations between Dynaudio and Volvo among others.
Latest to tie the auto/audio knot are Aston Martin and Linn Products, who announced last week that they will work together in a partnership that will result in a "unique audio system" to be offered on the AM V12 Vanquish, and Harman…
Market tests have been conducted, rumors floated, and now official word has arrived that DualDisc, a new two-sided disc format combining a CD on one side with a DVD on the other, will launch this October.
While the CD side of DualDisc will work like a conventional CD in most players, the DVD side of the new format has several potential uses: DVD-Video and all its attendant audio formats such as stereo 24/96 PCM or Dolby Digital 5.1, or optionally, DVD-Audio. Note that SACD is not included. Also, with its slight increase in thickness over a regular CD, DualDisc may have problems in some…
Last week, Phoenix Gold International announced its acquisition of the marketing assets of Carver Corporation, including the Carver name, along with plans to "actively rebuild the once highly regarded Carver brand, beginning with a full line of new consumer and professional audio products."
Phoenix Gold began its Carver quest when it acquired the company's Professional division in 1995, and it still manufacturers and distributes a full line of power amplifiers for the pro market. At that time, Carver Corporation continued creating and selling products to the consumer market, only to run…
Audio retailing has been a tough business in recent years, but two just-released surveys are suggesting that with the right combination of economic factors and dealer preparedness, things could turn around for smart retailers over the coming holiday season.
Last week, Deloitte Research chief economist Carl Steidtmann forecast a jump in consumer spending during the holiday season as a result of increased cash flow to consumers. "Consumers are coming into a great deal of cash, based on various economic factors, and historically when consumers find themselves with this much additional cash,…
Editor's note: For months now, we've been reporting about the the problems and dilemmas created by audio formats such as MP3, which are often used to pirate and illegally distribute music over the Internet. Correspondent Leonid Korostyshevski offers a decidedly unique Russian spin on the situation. His previous stories are here and here. Photos were taken last week by Leonid Korostyshevski
Following the economic and political crisis in Russia last August, audio recordings have reached the highest prices seen in the last couple of years. Original audio CD costs are now at a point that…
If all goes according to publicists' wishes, Web surfers will be able to access music previews beginning November 15 without the necessity of using a third-party software player, such as RealNetworks G2, to play downloaded audio files. Streaming-audio provider AudioBase.com has signed deals with several heavyweight corporate sponsors for the launch of its music previews. Participants include Sony Music, K-Tel, and Levi-Strauss. The deals are being announced in conjunction with Internet audio conference Webnoize.
Recently formed Spun.com, which provides a search function for music with 30…
It has become commonplace these days for a hot album to hit the streets days—if not weeks or even months—before its official release, inspiring all manner of stupid promo tricks on the part of record labels. Pearl Jam's recent Riot Act was distributed to the press in portable CD players with the lids glued shut and last week saw the White Stripes record label create 500 promo vinyl LPs of the group's impending Elephant release in place of the traditional advance CDs in an effort to stymie the digital pirate's plans.
But all to no avail, since the music from the Stripes and Pearl Jam discs…
As audiophiles, we all started somewhere, and the important fact is, we all started with a love of music. When it came to music playback equipment, more than a few of us remember the fold-up record player stacked with 45s, or the little transistor radio tucked under our pillow at night with a low-fi, one-channel earpiece attached.
Seems that kids these days are really no different—only the technology has changed. The modern equivalent of that transistor radio or plastic record machine is the portable music player, typified by the iPod, and the good news is that music appreciation among our…