search

NHT Takes A Break

"It's time to turn down the lights: NHT is going quiet."

Thus began a February 23rd announcement from loudspeaker company NHT (Now Hear This) that it is temporarily closing its doors in order to revision its future.

Two weeks after informing its dealers, NHT, which is based in Benicia, California, spread the word in a simple, one-page letter that's high in spirits if low on details. Jovially titled "Going Fishin'," the message from company cofounder Chris Byrne, longtime employee John Johnsen, and "the entire NHT gang" explained that all remaining professional and consumer…

Unique Hi-Rez Downloads

Two unusual download sites now offer high-resolution 24-bit files for audiophiles with a taste for adventure. The first, the UK's B&W Music Club, is a one-album-per-month subscription service that premieres complete, audiophile-quality albums in a wide variety of genres chosen and recorded by "curator" Peter Gabriel. The second, HifiTrack.com, is a Hong Kong-based site that offers Chinese and Asian traditional and pop music, Zen and meditation music, and Chinese-flavored Western pop, jazz, and classical.

"A lot of what we get to hear now is supercompressed," says Gabriel in the video…

Music Matters in May

Colorado high-end retailer ListenUp has three Music Matters events scheduled next week, one for each of their locations: Tuesday, May 5, in Colorado Springs—230 North Tejon Street, (719) 633-2600—Wednesday, May 6, in Denver—685 South Pearl Street, (303) 778-0780; Thursday, May 7, in Boulder—2034 Arapahoe Avenue, (303) 444-0479.

Billed as "three special evenings devoted to a celebration of recorded music," each Music Matters event will be highlighted by presentations from Stereophile editor John Atkinson and AudioQuest's Joe Harley. Other Music Matters participants will include: Steve…

Audio Round-Up in Colorado Springs

Koetsu USA, the US distributor for the $15,000 Koetsu Coralstone Platinum Mono reviewed by Michael Fremer in our May 2009 issue, has announced that several of its products will be demonstrated during a special "Audio Round-Up," hosted by Audio Limits in Colorado Springs. This free, two-day event takes place on Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17, and is open to the public.

"Music fans will have a rare opportunity to listen to, examine, and enjoy some of the best audio components in today's market," said Audio Limits owner, Darrin O'Neill. "We'll be exhibiting a collection of exceptional…

Channel Classics Continues With SACD

Despite the recent affirmation by Stereophile's Kalman Rubinson that the Super Audio Compact Disc remains "the best available all-around physical medium for music" (May 2009, p.47), audiophiles in the US continue to declare it a dead format. Regardless, independent record producers such as Jared Sacks, founder and managing director of Holland's Channel Classics Records, continue to champion and promote SACD.

"I'm very much dedicated to SACD," the American-born Sacks told me by phone during a recent visit to the US. "There's nothing better in terms of downward compatibility [than a format…

Aragon and Acurus Revived

After four years of virtual inactivity, new and updated Aragon and Acurus high-end amplifiers, preamplifiers, and processors are slated to return to the marketplace. The long-established brands, which have been the property of Klipsch since 2001, are now in the hands of two enthusiastic veteran Klipsch electronics engineers, Rick Santiago and Ted Moore of Indy Audio Labs, LLC.

"We saw this as a great opportunity to pursue," Santiago told Stereophile by phone. "We realized that Klipsch had another focus, core loudspeaker development, while Ted and I are pretty much straight audio and…

Bust and Booms on the Download Front

With good news to share about new downloads, let's dispense with the downer first. As reported by Twice.com, HDGiants, aka MusicGiants, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in US Bankruptcy Court on May 18. Although the site, often praised by Stereophile as a leader in CD-quality and high-resolution music and video downloads, still appears to be operating, the layoff of its sales and marketing staff raises serious questions about its future.

Given that no one was answering the company phone or fielding emails at press time—three of the four email addresses listed on the website's contact page…

Computer Playback Symposium Coming Up

The most comprehensive seminars ever devoted to high quality computer-based playback in the home will take place at the fabled headquarters of Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA the last weekend of June. Entitled Computer Audiophile Symposium: From Performance to Playback, the two "identical" seminars are scheduled for Saturday, June 27 from 3–7pm, and Sunday, June 28, from noon–4pm. Admission to each seminar is $279.00.

Hosted by Chris Connaker, who founded and writes most of the content for computeraudiophile.com, the seminar is the brainchild of Emeryville-based, veteran dealer and audio…

More on MusicGiants

On June 2, Stereophile reported that HDGiants.com, formerly known as MusicGiants.com, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The future of the high-quality music and video download site that had most recently begun offering "Super HD" 24-bit surround-sound downloads was unclear.

Close to two weeks later, we were finally able to connect with HDGiants CEO Scott Bahnemann and get a clearer picture of HDGiants current situation and future plans.

"We were in the midst of an internal recapitalization," Bahnemann explained by phone. "HDGiants needed to restructure between debt and equity,…

<I>Live at Otto's</I>: a New Stereophile Jazz CD

Released in July, Live at Otto's Shrunken Head (STPH020-2) is the latest Stereophile CD from reviewer Bob Reina's jazz quartet, Attention Screen. Unlike the group's first CD, Live at Merkin Hall (STPH018-2, released in 2007), which was recorded with multiple microphones, I captured the eight improvisations on Live at Otto's using a single pair of mikes.

Otto's Shrunken Head, of course, is nothing like Merkin Hall. Near Lincoln Center, Merkin is a proper concert hall with plush seating for about 450 people. It features a stage large enough for an entire orchestra, and is known for…