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An Audio Waterworld

The quest to secretly track music fans continues: Royal Philips Electronics and Digimarc announced last week that they have signed a new agreement that extends the licensing of Digimarc's digital watermarking patents to include audio applications as well as a broader range of video applications.

The companies say the new non-exclusive agreement now covers video and audio applications in professional, governmental, and consumer markets, "thus expanding the scope of applications and market opportunities of both companies' activities in digital watermarking."

Digimarc first signed a…

Download Duels

Stereophile readers may wonder why we regularly report on a low-fi music distribution service like iTunes. The reason is simple: What becomes popular in the mass market today, is what audiophiles will have to squeeze high-end music out of tomorrow.

And let there be no doubt, iTunes is the big dog on the block today. New data released last week by The NPD Group reinforces this fact with some astounding numbers: Nearly 70% of music files downloaded legally between December 2003 and July 2004 were downloaded from iTunes. NPD reports that Napster's share for the same time period was 11%, while…

Analog Coalition Restructures

Last week, the Analog Option Coalition, a loose-knit umbrella group that sponsored forums on analog recording during the 1997 and 1998 AES conventions, annouced that it has restructured as Analog Options Consulting, a division of Wavelength Communications.

"The success of our events in New York and San Francisco emphasized the need for an independent entity to serve the interests of everybody involved in professional analog recording," says AOC coordinator Bruce Borgerson. "But at the same time we found little enthusiasm for forming yet another membership-based organization."

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Hifi.com Picks Up Sony for Internet Sales

Among the ingredients needed for a successful online consumer-electronics business, having well-known, sought-after brands may be the most important. Just in time for the holiday season, Hifi.com announced last week that it has become one of a "select group" authorized to sell Sony Electronics products over the Internet. This announcement comes on the heels of Celestion and Marantz joining the mail-order retailer (see previous story).

As part of this agreement, Hifi.com says it has developed a special shopping area called "The Sony Store@Hifi.com," dedicated to Sony home audio, video, and…

BBC Offers "The Beethoven Experience"

Starting on Sunday, June 4, and continuing through Friday, June 10, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will broadcast all of Beethoven's compositions as "The Beethoven Experience."

In order to cram all of that Beethoven onto its airwaves, the BBC is cancelling all other Radio 3 programming to focus on round-the-clock Beethoven for six days. In addition, the BBC is broadcasting the complete cycle of nine symphonies in specially commissioned performances by the BBC Philharmonic, under the direction of Gianandrea Noseda, during the month of June. And, in an unprecedented action, those…

FCC Reverses Stance on "Microradio"

Until the end of January, the Federal Communications Commission had opposed the proliferation of low-power FM radio stations. "Microradio," as it is sometimes called, has been an ongoing problem for the agency since inexpensive broadcasting gear became widely available several years ago. Primarily an urban phenomenon, microradio consists of individuals and small groups with a hodgepodge of equipment, who wedge themselves into unoccupied slots in the crowded FM band.

Under optimum conditions, microradio's low-wattage output extends a few miles and is heard by only a few hundred listeners…

Added to the Archives This Week:

A surreal event took place at the 1991 Audio Engineering Society Convention when loudspeaker cables were put on the witness stand. Robert Harley details the amazing event as it unfolded, along with many unexpected twists and turns, in "Audio McCarthyism."

Next, we bring Web readers part two in a three-part series that attempts to reveal how Stereophile's audio writers practice their craft. The second installment, "Stereophile Writers on an Audio Quest," features the participation of cable manufacturer Bill Low of AudioQuest, along with the usual gang of writers.

JansZen Returns

When audiophiles speak of the pioneers who laid the foundation for their hobby, certain names are spoken with particular reverence: Kellogg, Rice, Klipsch, Voigt, Walker, and Janszen all indisputably make the all-star team. Arthur A. Janszen, like John Hilliard at Altec Lansing, worked on US Navy projects during WWII, but after the war focused on developing an electrostatic speaker for cockpit use in Naval aircraft. The resulting Office of Naval Research Technical Memorandum was groundbreaking in its description of construction techniques and sonic performance, but the Navy declined to…

Warner Bros. Announces "Remasters" Series

Audiophiles have complained since the earliest days of the compact disc that music reissued in the digital format often doesn't sound as good as it does on the original LPs. For nearly 20 years, such complaints have been dismissed by ordinary music lovers and by music-industry executives as the rantings of purists, but at least one major label is now admitting that many early CDs were not very good.

In mid-July, Warner Bros. Records, Inc. announced the launch of a massive reissue campaign—this time, with careful attention paid to the transfer from master tape to final CD. "I think it's…

Added to the Archives This Week

As the results from last week's Vote prove, having the right tool for the audiophile job makes all of the difference. And a lot of you selected the Stereophile Test CD 3 as your weapon of choice for uncovering the good, the bad, and the ugly of a component under consideration. Here's the complete story on the most recent test disc from Stereophile and company.

Yikes! A Bose review in Stereophile? J. Gordon Holt shares with us his experiences with the Bose 901 loudspeaker from back-in-the-day. In classic understatement, JGH begins, "The Bose 901 has created more of a stir in audio…