Among the latest thorns in the side of the music industry are homegrown twists on Apple Computer's iTunes program that let users copy songs or song lists from each others' computers, as well as stream entire music libraries throughout local area networks, such as in college dormitories. So-called companion programs, such as "MyTunes" and "GetTunes," circumvent anti-copying code in iTunes software so that users can share music with each…
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One of the most fascinating aspects of the digital age is that clever students—or sometimes, clever dropouts—can undo the work of teams of PhD engineers.
It's no secret that Dolby Laboratories doesn't aim its audio compression technologies at the high-end consumer audio market. After all, Dolby excels at finding ways to get maximum performance out of limited-bandwidth environments such as the audio cassette, or the space alloted for 5.1-channel soundtracks on DVDs.
At the recent Audio for DVD Seminar held at company headquarters in San Francisco, the folks from Dolby often referred to audiophiles as "them"---as in "us and them." Nonetheless, Dolby seems sympathic to the concerns of tweaks troubled by any compression schemes being used to…
Among the terrible news coming out of the Gulf states these past few days, we heard the sad news that Gary Warzin, one of the co-founders, with Tony Gregory, of high-end distribution company Audiophile Systems, had died on Saturday August 27 at just 56. Audiophile Systems had grown to prominence in the 1970s and '80s marketing Linn components in the US, and after Linn had set up their own distribution, had worked hard to establish the Arcam and dCS brands in the US. We reproduce below the email we received from Audiophile Systems, telling us of the news, but I'd like to offer my own memory of…
Once again, audiophiles can help themselves and others at the same time by participating in The Cable Company's seventh annual "Summer Against Hunger" campaign. The Cable Company, and several suppliers (listed below) have set up a program by which up to 10% of the Cable Company's August sales are donated to CARE and the International Rescue Committee, with contributions to be used to assist the worldwide disaster relief efforts of those humanitarian organizations.
The Cable Company is donating 5% of its total sales and participating manufacturers are matching this with their own 5%…
The Paradigm Group announced today that they have entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of Sonic Frontiers Inc., of Oakville, Ontario, as the first step in a comprehensive restructuring plan that will lead to an expansion of Sonic Frontiers.
"It's a done deal---the papers were signed today at 1:30---we're off to the races," stated Chris Johnson, President of Sonic Frontiers.
As reported this past March, Sonic Frontiers had announced an initial deal with The Lenbrook Group that was never finalized and was called off by early June. Chris Johnson explains: "Sonic Frontiers…
The Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) announced on January 23 that total November audio sales bounced back modestly from an anemic October, but were still off by 1% for both the month and year to date. Total dollars for the first 11 months of 1997 stand at $7.2 billion, compared to $7.3 billion at this time in 1996. Nevertheless, spectacular sales of audio systems are singlehandedly offsetting the lackluster sales in all other areas.
"Audio continues to present challenges for our industry," explained Gary Shapiro, CEMA's president. "However, companies continue to…
The new year got off to a litigious start as the audio industry's seemingly endless battle against the gray market continued with a pair of federal lawsuits.
On January 5, Parasound Products, Inc. and McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. filed suit against a host of alleged unauthorized resellers in US District Court for Northern California. The suits pit the plaintiffs against several New Jersey– and New York–based retailers and websites accused of unauthorized trading in the companies' products.
Included in the list of defendants in one filing are ElegantAudioVideo.com, Craftwood Custom Home…
The one-two punch known as the Holiday Season is only half finished; Christmas is simply the warmup for the biggest blowout of the year. For a successful New Year's party, the only ingredient more essential than a well-stocked liquor cabinet is an ample supple of party tunes. (Recommended accessory: a reliable CD changer. It's hard to play host and DJ at the same time.)
As guests are arriving, try setting the mood with Cocktails for Two/Romance with a Twist (Rykodisc D 116667), a compilation of classic lounge music by masters of the genre: Arthur Lyman, Gloria Lynne, the Stardust Steel…
In his review of the Toshiba SD-9200 DVD-Audio player, Chip Stern asks the question "In a rollout of new technologies more or less driven by the expectations of the home-theater crowd, what's in it for us music-lovers?" Stern uncovers the answer and then some, while Kal Rubinson explores the player's surround-music performance.
The path to musical nirvana often necessitates isolation from the outside world. So, Wes Phillips cuddles up with the Sennheiser HD 600 headphones to determine if their audio womb can provide a sufficient substitute for the well-endowed listening room.
For his…
The terrorist attack of September 11 will likely worsen an already dark period for American retailers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by more than 14% in the week after the attack, the largest slide since the week of July 21, 1933. In the present circumstances, Americans are generally reticent to spend money, according to many reports, a situation that will affect manufacturers and retailers for months or years to come.
Financial reports from big electronics retailers, released prior to the attack, indicate that some were already mired in what many analysts are already calling…