BOA says it plans to open more than 185 shops in the US, Canada, and Mexico in the next three years, having recently celebrated the opening of its 40th store, in Dallas, Texas. The…
search
We reported last year about the new direction that Bang & Olufsen America has taken in distributing its products: the company has recently opened a series of branded BOA stores around the US. The strategy seems to have paid off. The company reports increased sales of more than 60% in the first quarter of its current fiscal year, and claims that individual shops reported an average sales increase of 20%.
From the January 2004 issue, Robert J. Reina surveys the Epos ELS-3 loudspeaker, reporting at the outset, "I have not been this excited about an entry-level speaker in years." BJR explains, "In three areas, it exceeded in performance what I've heard from its competition."
Next we have Larry Greenhill listening carefully to the $14,799/pair Piega C8 LTD loudspeaker. LG writes, "It was only natural to test whether this Swiss full-range speaker could deliver 'what you should hear.'"
Also from the January issue, we file Paul Bolin's take on the Legacy Audio Focus 20/20 loudspeaker.…
In the world of computer operating systems, you've got commercial products from Microsoft, Apple, Be, Sun, and others in one corner, and open-source products like Linux in the other. The commercial products are released to the public as finished products (at least until the next "bug fix" is ready), usually for a fee, and their core software code is protected much like the recipe for Coca-Cola. If you don't work for the company producing the official version, then it's hands off.
Linux, on the other hand, is available as open-source code for developers all over the world to tinker with,…
Last week, Intel Corporation announced its membership in the DVD WG-4 Audio Working Group, and its support for the proposed DVD audio specification, as the next steps in bringing next-generation consumer-quality audio to the PC platform.
Intel is the first computer-industry representative invited to join the predominantly consumer electronics forum that has been meeting with music-industry representatives for the last two years. Intel supports the proposed WG-4 format as the most cost-effective and PC-friendly, and will provide input to the committee in its efforts to make this an accepted…
Cleveland's WMMS-FM built an enormous following of loyal fans by cranking out a steady stream of rock'n'roll---a stream now 30 years old. "The Buzzard," as the station at 100.7MHz is known, rode the wave of rock's ascendancy, and pioneered the classic rock format---one instantly recognizable by the heavy rotation of the recordings of such groups as Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, the Allman Brothers, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, the Cars, Kansas, Boston, and Journey. Every major city in the United States has at least one such station. Throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s,…
There is a war of words—and numbers—being waged in the struggle over copyright infringement and the illegal copying of music. Downloading music is a boon to the music industry, claim some, because it leads to increased sales of CDs. Others present statistics that undeniably prove that downloading will be the death of the music business.
Who is right? As in most disagreements, the truth probably lies somewhere between the two most diametrically opposed views. On June 14, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry—the global equivalent of the Recording Industry Association…
Larry Greenhill wonders, "In crossing over into transistor products, would Conrad-Johnson be able to retain the simplicity, low distortion, and musicality of their tube designs?" LG fires up the Conrad-Johnson Premier 18LS line preamplifier to satisfy his curiosity.
For his review of Rogue Audio's Magnum M-120 monoblock power amplifier, Chip Stern offers some sage audio advice: "I'm a big believer in the notion that, if you can't hear a difference, why pay for it?" Stern wires up the Rogue amps, searching for those qualities that make a difference.
John Atkinson discovers that the $35…
Music buyer beware: SunnComm announced last week the dubious milestone that it had shipped over one million restricted MediaMax audio CDs in March and expects to beat those numbers in April. The MediaMax M4 suite of "Digital Content Enhancement" technologies is built using the Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series platform.
When deployed at the mastering stage, the company's MediaMax technology can be used by record labels to control how buyers use the digital files on an audio CD. MediaMax's goal is to restrict consumers who share music with friends by only allowing the sharing of songs that…
The good news keeps coming. According to the lastest figures from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the month of May echoed previous months' continuous increase in audio product sales, with monthly revenues up 11% and year-to-date revenues up 12%, to $3.1 billion.
According to the CEA, CD-R technology and home-theater receivers have together pulled sales of home-audio separates far ahead of last year. In May, revenues from home-audio separates were up 21%, to $124 million. In the separates category, sales of Dolby Digital receivers were up 91%, and, most interestingly, CD-R…
The music industry repeatedly points to online file trading as the explanation for its declining market. But annual sales are still well ahead of 1998's figures and several analysts note that when you take into account the economic downturn, increased competition for entertainment dollars, high CD pricing, uninspiring new music, and consumer resistance to copy protection, those negative numbers should really be far worse.
Several studies also suggest that in light of the deterioration of radio in the US, unauthorized online file trading may be one of the few promotional avenues that…