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Added to the Archives This Week

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…

New Products

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…

Industry Update

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…

Dorian Sold?

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…

Willie Nelson's <I>Night and Day</I> slated for DVD-Audio release October 31

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-…

Who Hijacked the <I>Stereophile</I> Website?

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…

Yamaha Debuts First 24-bit/96kHz Multichannel Receiver

High-resolution digital audio got a big boost on March 2, when Yamaha Electronics Corporation announced the release of its new RX-V1, a multichannel receiver featuring Burr-Brown PCM 1704 24-bit/96kHz DACs for all 10 channels, including two subwoofer outputs. Six of the channels are full-range with amplifier power of 110W each, with claimed frequency response beyond 100kHz.

The unit incorporates processing for both DTS-Extended Surround and Dolby Digital DTS Surround 6.1 Matrix. Yamaha has added a pair of 35W front effects channels to the traditional surround array. Two subwoofer outputs…

Keeping New Orleans Musicians Alive

It's not just Katrina and Rita that have devastated the lives of musicians in the Gulf Coast area. The state of the economy, a decrease in services for the poor and marginally employed, the shorter attention span of those weaned on TV and computers, and an ever-increasing emphasis on image and effect over substance have all taken a huge toll on Gulf Coast musicians.

In addition to benefits scheduled with increasing frequency throughout the country, a host of organizations have stepped into the breach, providing emergency housing, food, medical care, instruments, employment, you name it for…

Added to the Archives This Week

From the June 1999 issue, Jonathan Scull surveys the Pass Labs X1000 monoblock power amplifier. JS notes, "Pass Laboratories' X amplifier series represents the efforts of designer Nelson Pass to prove that simple linear amplifier topologies can be scaled to provide high-quality audio performance at very high power levels."

A few months later, Scull writes, "I suppose that most high-end designers dream about making a Statement Product." Finding that the Balanced Audio Technology VK-50SE line preamplifier is just such a product, he adds, "Victor Khomenko, majordomo of Balanced Audio…

Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick Sue Sony

On Friday, April 29, AP reported that Cheap Trick and the Allman Brothers Band were suing Sony Music over the record label's payment for music downloads through Napster and the iTunes Music Service.

The suit was filed in a New York federal court and concerns, among other issues, the distinction between music licenses and music sales. Sony has been paying the ABB and Cheap Trick according to the terms of their long-term contracts, which predate the downloading phenomenon. According to the AP, that means the label deducts costs such as packaging, restocking, and breakage, even though such…