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Added to the Archives This Week

"Does the modern audiophile want a sleek, compact, powerful, remote-controlled, microprocessor-driven, two-channel integrated amplifier?" Michael Fremer seeks the answer as he reviews the Perreaux R200i integrated amplifier. It may be small, but as MF finds, it also packs a punch.

Next, John Atkinson finds himself wanting to stroke the polished grain-streaked sides of the Earthworks Sigma 6.2 loudspeaker. But looks are only half the story, as JA explains.

Also from the June issue, we have Kalman Rubinson firing up the Audes Jazz loudspeaker, asking "What might one expect of an…

Cell Phone Hi-Fi?

Music industry executives widely believe that "ring tones"—snippets of favorite tunes—and music downloadable to cell phones will be the next big trend, perhaps one that could help restore some luster to the industry's tarnished bottom line. "Music-related products for PCs and mobile phones are on pace to deliver as much as $500 million in combined revenue in the US for 2004, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures and analysts' projections," reported Brian Garrity in a mid-December issue of Billboard.

Buying into such received wisdom, Warner Music Group (WMG) has signed a global licensing…

Music Industry Giants Team Up Online

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Two music-industry giants---Bertelsmann Music Group and Seagram Ltd.'s Universal Music---have agreed to pool their resources in a joint Internet venture. GetMusic, as the website will be known, will sell compact discs in direct competition against traditional retailers, other Internet music services, and mail-order music clubs.

BMG already operates one of the most successful music clubs, competing head to head with Columbia House, an enterprise backed by Time Warner and Sony Corporation. Amazon.com and CDnow are two of the most successful online music…

CEA Honors Hall of Fame Inductees at 2000 International CES

At this year's recent CES in Las Vegas, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced the first 50 inductees into its Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame, chosen from the nominees by a panel of 11 media and industry professionals.

Gary Shapiro, CEA president, states that "this is one of the rare occasions that the industry gets to commemorate the technological advancements it has provided and . . . to reflect back on the accomplishments of our industry and pay tribute to those individuals who have paved the way for today's workstyle and lifestyle products. Individually, and in some…

Is It Live Or Is It SACD?

Audiophiles will get a rare opportunity to discover the similarities and differences between SACD reproduction and the real thing at this year's Home Entertainment 2003 show in San Francisco. Diversity Records, Ltd. has announced it will record two performances by its artists at HE2003 on June 7 (1–4:30pm).

The groups are the modern jazz band Ecstasy In Numbers and the electro-acoustic folk-rock Kevin Jones Band. Diversity's Paul Weitzel has been doing live recordings for over 20 years and says the final discs will be multichannel hybrid releases on the SACD format.

Weitzel explains…

It's An Internet Jungle Out There

According to a new comparison of online music business models and companies prepared by Red Herring Research, Napster simply cannot exist without the complete consent of the recording industry, and the company's recent attempts to appease the copyright infringement concerns of the industry have so far failed. The study also finds it highly unlikely that the company's peer-to-peer model will find success, given the history of its relationship with the recording industry, its declining membership, and impending competition from services like MusicNet and Duet.

Not good news for the fast-…

Added to the Archives This Week

Michael Fremer writes, "I've never heard a pair of the Italian Sonus Faber speakers I didn't like. What I've never liked was the US price: too high. And then you have to put them on costly stands." In his review of the floorstanding Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano loudspeaker, Fremer grapples with the price/performance ratio of this $3500/pair speaker and answers the important audiophile question: Enough magic for the money?

Next, in his essay "Audio & Alternative Medicine," George Reisch points out why some of audio's stranger concepts can sound similar to claims for alternative…

LSA Group Purchases DK Designs

At HE2005 last April, Daniel Khesin's brawny $3000 150Wpc DK Designs VS-1 MK2 hybrid integrated amplifier had the crowd buzzing with its expansive sound driving Von Schweikert speakers—and bang-for-the-buck pricing. We spoke with Khesin and he was passionate about breaking into the high-end big leagues. Therefore, it came as a surprise to receive notice on July 8 that DK Design had been purchased by LSA Group LLC of Louisville, KY.

Khesin stated that his primary financial interests are not related to the audio industry and that LSA, which is about to release a line of high-performance…

HE2002 Seminars Set

High-end audio and home-theater enthusiasts attending Home Entertainment 2002, The Hi-Fi and Home Theater Event in New York City on May 31–June 2, 2002, will have an opportunity to participate in a series of interactive seminars and panel discussions on the latest advances in technology—all included with the price of admission.

Industry experts and leading authorities from some of the most prestigious consumer-electronics manufacturers in the world will be on hand to talk with consumers, answer questions, and offer insights into the future of home entertainment.

Below are the details…

HE 2004 Offers Free Live Music

Live music from popular recording artists is on tap for attendees at the Home Entertainment Show coming to NYC May 20—23, 2004 at the Hilton New York Hotel. And best of all—all performances are FREE to all Show attendees!

Pop and Jazz fans will fill the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton on Friday evening for a free benefit concert starring famed recording artist Joan Osborne as the main event, plus performances by the dynamic Tom Scott & The New York All Stars, Carla Lother, and Nicole Henry. Sponsored by XM Satellite Radio and Delphi, the concert will be broadcast live on XM Satellite…