Steve Portocarrero passed away Monday, June 7 from Lou Gehrig's Disease, or ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which he was diagnosed with two years ago.Steve worked at Ortofon in operations and sales from 1983 to 1991, followed by five years at Krell as national sales manager, and finally at Wilson Audio for the last two years, until he was no longer able to work because of his illness.
Steve's last year was a strong contrast to his incredible energy, drive, and commitment, both in his personal life and toward the companies he worked for. Steve put pride in being physically in…
The Academy Advancing High Performance Audio & Video (formerly the Academy for the Advancement of High End Audio) kicked off CES '98 with a pre-Show meeting. Meridian's Bob Stuart addressed the thorny issue of competing and (as yet) not fully defined standards for DVD-Audio.Quality audio embodies a wide dynamic range, a full frequency range, and accurate spatial relations, Stuart said. He cautioned that renegade format proposals threaten the potential for widespread implementation of "fully three-dimensional audio reproduction" ---something DVD-Audio makes possible for consumers for…
The Home Technology & Photography Group (HT&P) of Primedia and website BestStuff.com announced today the launch of Best, a shopping magazine focused on the products and experiences that enhance an upscale lifestyle. Best, which hits newsstands on Thursday, November 6 at a $3.99 cover price, is an "aspirational" magazine which offers features ranging from the selection and use of home theaters and high-end audio and video systems, to digital photography, computers, and video imaging products, as well as the finest in automobiles and ultimate travel suggestions.The premiere issue of…
Napster has been saved from what appeared to be certain death. A last-minute deal struck by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG will revive the company, which was reportedly near bankruptcy. It's the end of a long-running soap opera and the beginning of a new era for the company that began the audio file-sharing phenomenon.The price? A mere $8 million, to be paid to various Napster creditors, will secure the company's assets. That's less than 10% of the $85 million Bertelsmann has pumped into Napster so far in the hope of turning it into a profit center offering licensed music. It…
When it comes to purchasing and using electronics products, the gap between men and women appears to be disappearing. That's one conclusion reached by a study conducted in early October by eBrain Market Research and published by the Consumer Electronics Association. The study, titled Women, Men & Consumer Electronics, questioned 1000 random households about their involvement with electronics technology.A number of results of the study are in direct opposition to one of the most firmly entrenched assumptions held by audio retailers: that the field of consumer electronics is a "boy's…
The last day at CES is low-key. Displays at the Las Vegas Convention center are already being broken down by mid-day, and many attendees have already left.So things were quiet at the Alexis Park, except for the last-minute scrambling of bag-toting journalists trying to see the demonstrations they missed. Shannon Dickson wandered by, looking dazed. "I should have trained for this," he said. "Walked miles every day with a cinder block in each hand." We know the feeling, having spent nearly a week trudging thither and yon, computer in one hand, bag o' literature in the other. Can we hire…
At nearly simultaneous press receptions in London and New York on November 17, B&W unveiled its new 800 series loudspeakers, the first complete redesign of this respected and venerable line in more than six years. Wisely, the presentation began with cocktails and a surprisingly entertaining technical description of the innovations. The latter offered many reassurances that, although all aspects of the 800 line were examined, no changes were made simply for the sake of change, and the basic design principles withstood this re-examination. Thus, when we were, at last, treated to the…
One billion dollars in 1997---thatÆs the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association's first-ever estimate of the high-end industry's factory-sales volume. The number could be as high as $1.4 billion, according to a CEMA projection for the entire industry based on sales data of a representative sample of 32 companies. The results of the survey were published March 23 on CEMA's website.The projection is a first for the association. "It's not the first time we've sampled companies [for their sales volume], but it's the first time we've projected the entire industry's sales," said a…
Music file–sharing service Napster Inc. appears to be losing its fight against the Record Industry Association of America. On May 8, judge Marilyn Hall Patel of the US District Court in Northern California rejected two of Napster's key defenses: that it is a "mere conduit" of information, like a telephone network; and that it had made serious efforts to prevent "repeat offenders" from using the site. Telephone companies, Internet service providers, and other types of information services are exempt by law from being responsible for the information transmitted over their systems, provided…
Music sales over the past two years have increased almost everywhere except near college campuses, according to a recent study undertaken by Reciprocal, Inc., a digital-rights management company. The first quarter of 2000 showed a 12% rise in overall music sales compared to the same period in 1998—except at stores located within five miles of a college campus. Reciprocal reached its conclusions based on figures supplied by sales-tracking organization Soundscan, Inc.Stores near colleges showed a 4% drop in sales during the same period—a significant figure in light of the fact that such…
