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Can Video Save the Audio Star?

Both the SACD and DVD-Audio disc formats are striking out, with a shaky DualDisc next up to bat. But the video twins HD-DVD and Blu-ray are warming up in the bullpen—and they just might save the day for high-resolution audio.

How can video save the audio star? Recent announcements from both Dolby and DTS have revealed plans to add high-resolution lossless audio formats to one or both impending High Definition video disc formats. And if one or both of these primarily HD video formats takes off, high-resolution audio will be along for the ride.

DTS is taking another step in tightening…

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In his third installment of "Fine Tunes," Jonathan Scull encourages readers to stick their heads in a corner. "Notice how strongly the bass loads up there, how exaggerated and out of control it sounds," he writes. With the help of Jeff Joseph, Scull also reveals a trick for dealing with square rooms.

While explaining the process leading up to preparing and releasing The Stereophile Test CD, Robert Harley writes: "Say you put a disc on and the sound is boomy in the upper bass. Unless you were present at the sessions and engineered the recording, you have no idea whether your system is…

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John Atkinson wrestles with the fabled YBA 2 HC power amplifier to uncover its very essence. Can this meticulous design, engineered (some might say over-engineered) by Yves-Bernard André deliver the audio goods?

Atkinson also gets his hands on the YBA 2 preamplifier and notes, "Finding a truly great, full-function preamplifier is a quest at which I have had only limited success." Victory at last?

Next, we present John Marks' "The Fifth Element #4," wherein he tells readers where they can stick their next thousand audio bucks. We've also added several reader letters to Marks' third…

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In his review of the Cary Audio Design CAD-300SEI integrated amplifier, Robert Harley admits up front that he's been "biased against single-ended tube amplifiers because of their quirky measured performances." Can the Cary redeem itself and the SET approach with a single hearing? Harley reports, with a "Follow-Up" from Jonathan Scull.

Next, we include an interview conducted by Robert Harley with the creator of the CAD-300SEI, The Single-Ended Amplifier: Cary's Dennis Had. Widely credited with the SET revival in the US, Had explains what drives him and his designs.

Analog junkies…

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Madrigal Audio Labs designed the original Mark Levinson No.30 nearly 10 years ago with the idea that, as a Reference Series product, it would never be made obsolete. John Atkinson reviews the No.30's latest upgrade, the Mark Levinson No.30.6 Reference D/A processor, after sending his personal unit from 1992 back to the factory for the required work. What he got back included new D/A converters in the unit's twin towers. Was it worth the effort, and does this processor still define the state of the art? You'll want to read his report to find out.

More equipment reviews this week:…

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With their simple circuits and low, even zero, levels of loop negative feedback, the sound quality of single-ended triode amplifiers is very dependent on the specific output tubes used. In "In Search of the Perfect 300B Tube," Peter van Willenswaard finds that not all tubes are created equal. Measured and auditioned in his survey of 300B power tubes are samples from Golden Dragon, JJ Electronics, KR Enterprise, Sovtek, Svetlana, Valve Art, and Western Electric. "If you want the best," sums up Mr. W, "there's only the . . . "—well, you'll have to read the article to find out!

"I want…

Napster Proclaims Legality of File-Swapping

Federal courts long ago established that music fans have certain "fair use" rights when it comes to making copies of recordings they own. They can transfer recordings from one format to another—such as from LP to cassette tape or from CD to MiniDisc—and they can share those recordings with others, provided that the results are only for private, noncommercial use.

"Fair use" does not include mass replication, however, even if it is for noncommercial purposes. Is Napster, the audio file-sharing Internet service, simply software that lets music fans swap favorites, or is it something more…

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Incorporating the company's new "black box" crossover design, the Acarian Alón Li'l Rascal Mk.II loudspeaker captured Robert J. Reina's attention. "I fired up the Li'l Rascals, wondering if I'd catch a glimpse of the dynamic performance I'd heard from the Exotica Grand References at HE2001," explains BJR.

When Art Dudley initially laid eyes on the Reference 3A MM de Capo i loudspeaker, he noted, "At first glance, this speaker looks like a thousand other stand-mounted two-ways on the market." AD then goes on to explain what, other than the odd name, sets it apart.

"I didn't care how…

Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow?

One of the dirty little secrets of the recording business is that some of its most precious assets are slowly self-destructing. In one example, a popular mastering tape supplied by Ampex to recording studios during the '70s and early '80s has been found to prematurely shed its oxide coating at an alarming rate due to poor quality control of the binding agents that hold the magnetic particles to the Mylar.

Engineers have taken to "baking" these reels of deteriorating tape in a effort to make one or two final transfers before the masters become unusable. But as each day passes, more of the…

TAG McLaren F1 company buys Audiolab, UK audio manufacturer

UK electronics specialty manufacturer Audiolab has been taken over by leading Grand Prix car-racing company TAG McLaren---or, more precisely, by the TAG McLaren Group. A newly formed company, TAG Electronics Holdings Ltd., will be the parent of both Cambridge Systems Technology Ltd. (which trades as Audiolab) and TAG Electronic Systems Ltd. (which supplies specialist, low-volume electronic engine-management systems to exclusive high-end automobile brands).

TAG McLaren Group's Managing Director, Ron Dennis, shows his mastery of mediaspeak in the following statement: "I am very excited…