Blockbuster has closed more than 30 stores this year in an attempt to "make the unit more attractive for a sale…
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Media conglomerate Viacom, parent company of Blockbuster Music, has reportedly put the ailing chain on the auction block. Most likely buyer is Torrance, California-based music retailer Wherehouse Entertainment, Inc., which has 220 stores of its own, primarily on the West Coast. On Wednesday, May 13, Reuters news service reported that Wherehouse had tendered an offer of $200 million for Blockbuster. Wherehouse has been in intermittent discussions for several months with Viacom.
Loudspeaker designer Bill Eggleston has joined Cello Technologies Corporation. He will oversee the development of a new line of no-compromise loudspeakers, according to a company press release dated July 1. Eggleston designed the Andra loudspeaker, which was designated Stereophile's "Product of the Year" for 1997.
"I am very pleased to be a part of the Cello development team," Eggleston said. "I look forward to the opportunity to expand Cello's product line, and to further increase the company's role as the technological leader in this area." The highly regarded designer is no longer…
Last week, the Secure Digital Music Initiative announced that it would allow free MP3 downloads to co-exist with new encrypted forms of digital music transmission. Despite this, widespread concern in corporate legal departments about copyright-violation liability has prompted software developers to come up with blocking techniques to prevent pirated music from entering company "Intranets."
Allegro, a major outsourced messaging company, has developed technology to prevent illegal MP3 files from ever entering a computer system. MailZone, as Allegro has designated it, is security software…
Jonathan Scull says he likes "stories with happy endings." Will his time spent with the Conrad-Johnson Premier 16LS preamplifier leave a smile on his face or a frown? J-10 comments, "As always, after a period of time, I began tweaking until I got the sound just so, then whipped out the laptop and . . . " filed this report.
When Thomas J. Norton first penned his review of the Epos ES 14 loudspeaker, he noted that "Americans might be forgiven if they haven't heard of Epos, a small, British specialist loudspeaker manufacturer." Norton is joined by other Stereophile scribblers who provide…
In his 1987 review of the Celestion System 6000 loudspeaker system, Martin Colloms notes, "In the audio field, the British have traditionally thought 'small,' scoring hits both with their compact loudspeakers and with medium-priced amplifiers." MC reveals why the compact but fullrange Celestions are one such hit.
One year earlier, in 1986, J. Gordon Holt reviewed the Celestion's polar opposite, size-wise: the Sound-Lab A-3 loudspeaker. JGH proclaims that the rather large Sound-Lab electrostatic loudspeakers are "legendary" in audiophile circles and explains in detail exactly why. We also…
From the October 2004 issue, John Atkinson reviews the Halcro dm38 power amplifier, noting, "When Halcro's affable US distributor, Philip O'Hanlon, asked me if I would be interested in reviewing the company's first two-channel design, the $18,790 dm38, I didn't need much persuading."
Also from October, Paul Bolin takes the McIntosh C200 preamplifier out for a stroll. "Though the C200 is laden with features, the approach was to design 'the finest audio preamplifier ever created' with 'no design compromises,'" says PB who puts it to the test.
Next, JA discusses the magazine's semiannual…
Internet music retailer CDnow has formed a partnership with Sony Corporation and Time Warner to build a music and video retailing behemoth. The July 13 announcement came in the wake of online bookseller Amazon.com's recent move into the music market. With the backing of corporate giants Sony and Time Warner, CDnow could be able to mount a challenge to the growing presence of Amazon, which is also expanding into toy sales and consumer electronics.
Some skeptical observers have noted the possibility that Amazon could diversify to the point of losing its focus. "They are going off in many,…
You know the trouble with show reports? You read them after the show. So let me give you a brief report on Home Entertainment 2001 before the Show.
For starters, HE2001 is shaping up as a big event. There will be over 200 exhibits and listening rooms. Dozens of new products will premiere. New technologies will be demonstrated to the public. More than ever, the Show will make news. In fact, we expect that Home Entertainment 2001 will be featured on network TV.
The Show's name may have changed, but high-quality audio continues to play a starring role. You'll find plenty of tube…
Liquid Audio has been under attack for most of its short life, first from competitors and then from its own shareholders and corporate raiders. But the tumultuous journey may finally be coming to an end as the company reports that it is settling some of its lawsuits and shareholder claims while selling its remaining assets.
The company was formed in 1996 and rode the dot.com wave as it provided record labels, artists, and retail websites the software, infrastructure, and services for the secure digital delivery of media over the Internet. The company peaked in November of 1999 with a…
Selling consumer-electronics gear over the Web has begun to glow white-hot in the last year, with dozens of companies turning up the competitive burners (see related story). It will likely be a tough business, with the inevitable shake-outs and mergers taking place as retailers test their strategies and brands on the public's pocketbooks.
Last week, specialty consumer-electronics retailer Tweeter Home Entertainment Group jumped into the fray by announcing the formation of a joint venture with Cyberian Outpost, an Internet-only retailer of computer hardware, software, and accessories. The…