Cirrus Logic is one such company. Cirrus has promoted wireless protocols such as "Whitecap2" and "802.11e" as standards for…
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Wireless local audio/video networks and surround sound systems have long been one of the electronics industry's holy grails, given the fact that a major cost in installing home theaters or whole-house audio systems is the wiring. The market potential is so great that major chipmakers have invested enormous amounts of research in developing products that would enable easy placement of audio and video systems anywhere in a home without the need for dedicated wiring.
Warner Music Group rebounds: WMG announced Thursday August 19 that it was near completion of a major corporate restructuring, a move expected to save as much as $250 million annually. WMG had originally projected savings of $60 million per year. Earlier this year, the company was acquired by an investment consortium led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr., scion of the Seagram family of Montreal and former chief of Universal Music.
Bronfman described the new WMG as a "lean and flexible music company." WMG has shed approximately 1000 jobs, including several top executive positions since being spun off…
One of the music industry's "big five" will soon begin offering its wares as digital downloads. Seagram, Ltd. chief executive Edgar Bronfman, speaking on Friday, March 3 at the Jupiter Consumer Online forum in New York, said his Universal Music Group will start selling music online this spring.
Seagram's CEO sees the Internet as the panacea for anything that might ail the music industry—despite last year's record sales, only a tiny fraction of which took place over the Net. "We need to stop thinking about selling round things," Bronfman stated. "In the future, we'll be selling songs,…
Satellite radio may become one of the most successful communications formats ever launched, according to predictions from market research and analysis company The Yankee Group. A new report suggests that satellite radio will take off the way cable TV did back in the 1970s; the result may create permanent changes in the radio industry.
Among predictions in "Satellite Radio: A New Star on Broadcasting's Horizon" are estimates of over one million receivers installed only one year after the format launches. The Yankee Group claims that 21 million receivers will be in place by the end of five…
From the September 2004 issue, Art Dudley gets his mitts on the Spendor S5e loudspeaker, remarking, "I'm never more conservative than when the subject turns to home audio . . . . Give me thin-walled hardwood cabinets, obsolete tweeters, and handmade polypropylene woofers . . . ."
Robert J. Reina finds magic with the Audes Bravo loudspeaker. As Reina reports, "I believe that any good speaker needs to get the midrange right. The Bravo did so in spades." And at $999/pair!
Next, Michael Fremer sets up the Rockport Technologies Merak II loudspeaker & Sheritan II subwoofer in his…
Lexington, KY–based Thiel Audio has announced a new line of SmartSub subwoofers, "designed as the ultimate solution for bass management and reproduction in home theater and music sound systems." The line includes the SS1, SS2, SS3, and SS4 subwoofers, the SmartSub Integrator, and the PX02 and PX05 Passive Crossovers, a group of products said "to offer the most seamless and realistic low frequency reproduction possible." Company president Kathy Gornik describes the new line as "the world's first intelligent subwoofers."
Thiel claims that the SmartSub Integrator, an active electronic device…
Krell restructures S&M: Dean Roumanis, Krell's Chief Operating Officer, announced March 14 that the company had restructured its sales and marketing department to "enable [Krell] to continue to grow our business by maximizing the skills of our personnel."
Randy Bingham is now national sales manager (tel: (203) 298-4015; cell: (203) 623-3452; email: rbingham@krellonline.com).
Irv Gross is now assistant national sales manager (tel: (203) 298-4014; cell: (860) 550-0601; email: igross@krellonline.com).
Jim Ludoviconi is now sales training coodinator, as well as technical support…
Another chapter has closed in the saga of the Dorian Group, but the story seems far from over. As we reported last month, Dorian had filed for bankruptcy and unsuccessfully attempted to auction its assets. The creditors and former owners of Reference Recordings were also nipping at Dorian's heels to get their label back.
Last week, the Dorian catalog (including copyrights and contracts) and recording equipment were sold to Virginia-based recording studio Sono Luminus for $135,000. Sono also paid $62,500 for the inventory in Dorian's Troy warehouse.
Sono Luminus was started ten years…
It may still be a trickle, but at least a little music relief has reached the parched throats of audiophiles awaiting the arrival of DVD-Audio discs. Last week saw the announcement that Aaron Neville's latest CD release will also hit stores as a multichannel DVD-A on Immergent Records on October 24. This week sees the announcement that another recording legend, Willie Nelson, will soon take the plunge.
Planned for release October 31, Nelson's Night and Day is being issued in the DVD-A format by Surroundedby Entertainment. The label says that the Nelson release will be encoded in the 5.1-…
If you've visited this website before, you'll notice that we're sporting a new look this week. You'll also find that, in addition to the new sheet metal and colors, there are also plenty of changes under the hood. The Stereophile site was originally launched on December 1, 1997. The old model lasted over three years, but three years is an eternity in Internet time, and we couldn't resist taking all of the comments readers have sent in over the months and sorting through them for fresh ideas.
Thanks go to graphic artist and pixel-pusher James Wigger, who developed the original series of…