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Analog and digital audio technologies should complement rather than oppose each other. That's Rotel's philosophy with its new RDV-1080 DVD-Audio player. Combining the best of Rotel's expertise in both realms, the RDV-1080 offers "stunning audio quality," according to Rotel general manager Michael Bartlett. "The RDV-1080 is Rotel's answer to those who have asked for a DVD-A player that focuses our Balanced Design engineering approach on the unique challenges of this exciting new format," Bartlett said. "Even though it handles the most advanced format today, DVD-A, the RDV-1080 is…
Record producer and critic John Marks, whose writing has appeared from time to time in Stereophile—his March "As We See It" triggered a deluge of letters—has started John Marks Recommends, a free e-mail newsletter on music and the arts. "Talking about my own work will be the exception rather than the rule," says Marks. "I tell people about great recordings, books, and videos, recipes, and an occasional wine recommendation."
Marks describes his newsletter, now ten issues old, as concise, text-only (no bulky HTML), family-friendly, and positive in tone. The first issues have included a…
Sidney Smith, revered audio engineer and a founding father of the modern audio industry, passed away on October 25, 2000 after a battle with cancer. He was 77. Sid, a family man, left a loving wife, Marilyn, three caring daughters, Jennie, Pattie, and Laura, and two grandchildren.
To say that every decision in Sid's life was informed by his relationship to music would be no exaggeration. He was drawn to his wife because of their mutual love of music. He worked in audio, sang leading roles in professional opera troupes around New York, built his church a pipe organ, rebuilt its carillon…
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is reporting that factory-to-dealer sales of audio equipment posted strong gains in October, rising by 8% over last October's sales figures and eclipsing the $1 billion mark for the first time since 1995. The CEA says that growth occurred in all segments of the audio market except portable audio, sales of which remained consistent with last year's levels.
The CEA also reports that sales of aftermarket autosound products continued their year-long upward trend, up 30% over last October and topping $211 million. The industry organization points out…
If you work in the consumer electronics industry and would like to see your personal CE hero rewarded, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) would like to hear from you. The CEA announced last week that it is seeking nominations from its members, the press and other industry professionals for the 2002 class of inductees into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.
The CEA says that the Hall of Fame is intended to recognize consumer technology pioneers, founders, and inventors who have made significant industry contributions. Past inductees include Ray Dolby, "the inventor who took the…
Markus Sauer is in a ponderous audio mood: "When several listeners each play music they like on the system, their reaction should be more uniform. But it isn't. What irks me is that, while we seem to be able to agree pretty well on how a system sounds, there seems to be no consistency of emotional reaction to this sound . . . " Sauer works through this troubling aspect of being an audiophile in "God is in the Nuances." "This journal has seen a number of thoughtful ruminations on what it is that attracts us to music or to a given audio component, and how we should describe that attraction…
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…
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…
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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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…