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Added to the Archives This Week

Paul Bolin notes, "Bankers and doctors bought McIntosh, not 'serious' audiophiles. So ran the conventional wisdom." While reviewing the McIntosh MC501 monoblock power amplifier, PB discovers that conventional wisdom can be anything but wise.

"The lacquers from which LPs are pressed are cut in a straight line, and that's how the LP groove should be traced." So begins Michael Fremer's assessment of the Kuzma Air Line tonearm. MF explains why most linear-tracking tonearms have inherent weaknesses, and what Kuzma has tried to do about them, with one glaring exception.

Next, John Atkinson…

Both DVD-Audio and SACD Get Much Needed Software Boost

If it's the software that sells a new format, then several recent announcements bode well for both SACD and DVD-Audio. Last week, DTS announced plans to begin shipment of the first DVD-Audio music recordings produced by its company-owned DTS Entertainment record label by late February 2001. Also, the first multichannel SACD to be produced by a major label from an original multitrack master, Mike Oldfield's recently remastered 1971 classic Tubular Bells is due for release from Virgin Records in February 2001.

DTS says that each of its DVD-Audio titles will be marketed as a "DTS Music…

Marantz Goes Virtual

One of the challenges facing audio equipment manufacturers as we enter the Internet age is how to handle online retailing of products to consumers. A manufacturer that has so far shunned mail-order in favor of bricks-and-mortar retailing runs the risk of alienating its established distribution base by jumping online ("mail order with a web address"), where traditional territorial sales boundaries are often rendered meaningless.

Last week, Philips subsidiary Marantz and Hifi.com, sister company to Cambridge SoundWorks and a wholly owned subsidiary of Creative Technology, announced an…

2005 CES: Day Two

Every few years the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show turns cold and wet, and it looks like this will be one of those years. Still, audio is largely an indoor activity, and despite chilly, damp weather, ongoing format turmoil, and pressure from home theater, rooms at CES's high end audio venue, the Alexis Park hotel, are hopping as normal.

Simaudio's Lionel Goodfield was beaming with pride as he beckoned us to his room. A new stack of products waited inside: the Moon Andromeda CD player, Moon P-8 preamplifier, and Moon W-8 amplifier. Added together, the total price for Simaudio…

Over 1 Billion Served

Whether or not online file-trading has had an effect on compact disc purchases positive or negative, a new report published by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) indicates that the real problem facing the music industry worldwide is that fewer and fewer of those CD purchases are of the real thing.

Global sales of pirate CDs have more than doubled in the last three years, says the IFPI, and pirates now generate an illegal international business worth more than US$4.5 billion. Sales of pirate CDs are estimated to have risen by 14% in 2002 alone, exceeding one…

PC Or CE?

Maybe it's only fair: Consumer electronics giants like Sony have been selling personal computers lately, so computer manufacturer Compaq announced last week that it will begin selling audio products. Joining Intel in making the transition from the computer industry to consumer electronics, Compaq has now redefined itself as "a global enterprise technology and solutions company."

In the increasingly digital audio world, where new products have operating systems and hard drives, it's not surprising that a computer company finds itself in the right place to create and market CE products. But…

One World, One Kid

The holiday season is upon us, and if you have someone on your gift list—especially a youngster, but really, anyone—whom you'd like to introduce to the wonders of world music, I've got just the ticket. And even if not, read on, because this story will do you good.

Last year, Skyler Pia decided to do something to make his friend Erik, who has cancer, feel better. So, sitting down at his computer with a stack of CDs, he set out to record a "radio show," where he'd play DJ and spin his favorite tunes.

Skyler selected a broad range of songs from all over the world—Africa, Europe, South…

HE 2005 In New York

See, touch, and demo the next generation of personal media players, home networking solutions, HDTV, digital music, and more—all under one roof.

The stage is set and the curtain will rise on April 28 for a return engagement of the popular Home Entertainment Show—the high-performance sound and imaging event of the year. HE 2005 will take place April 28–May 1, 2005, once again at the Hilton New York Hotel, only steps away from Broadway, marking the seventh time the event has been held in New York City.

PRIMEDIA's Home Technology Group of leading online and print publications, including…

Experience Music Project Announces Grand Opening

Last week, the Experience Music Project, described as an "interactive museum devoted to creativity and innovation in American popular music," announced that it will open its doors to the public on Friday, June 23, 2000, in Seattle, Washington, with a multi-day celebration featuring events in and around the museum, and live performances by a wide variety of musicians. EMP said it expects more than a million visitors during the course of its first year.

Founded by Jody Patton and investor and Microsoft founder Paul G. Allen, EMP states its mission as "a destination meant to inspire young…

Added to the Archives This Week:

A good reference work on a subject like audio can help speed the understanding of complicated terms and develop the reader's grasp of the hobby's more arcane reaches. Unfortunately, not all audio books serve the audiophile equally well. Read about one such mishap in Book Review: High Fidelity Audio/Video Systems: A Critical Guide for Owners.

Next, we bring you the second installment of John Atkinson's comprehensive three-part "Measuring Loudspeakers" series, which first emerged as a paper presented at the 103rd Audio Engineering Society Convention, in New York in September 1997. In Part…