search

Added to the Archives This Week

Taking the measure of the Chord Electronics DAC64 D/A processor, John Atkinson finds nice things can come in strange packages. "Such is the pace of development in digital technology these days that it is hard not to become convinced that digital playback is a solved problem." But, as JA discovers, not all solutions are identical.

The mere existence of the Theta Digital Intrepid 5-channel power amplifier startled Kalman Rubinson, who had no idea the company even made such a beast. But after a brief exposure, Rubinson starts to understand the potential in such an innovative design.

…

New NARM Report Outlines the Future of Digital Distribution

According to a report just released by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), Digital distribution—particularly streaming technology—will seriously disrupt the music industry, but has the potential to "benefit all segments of the business if companies can leverage their traditional strengths and create compelling consumer value propositions."

The new study, entitled "Creating Industry Value from Digital Music Distribution," focused on the three technologies at the heart of the distribution shift: file sharing, downloading, and streaming. NARM says that the insights and…

NAB Appeals Web Royalty Ruling

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has initiated its planned appeal of a ruling by the Librarian of Congress that establishes a royalty rate for all Webcasters, including traditional radio stations that stream their programming on the Internet.

The NAB has long maintained that its exemption from royalties due to copyright holders for over-the-air broadcasts should extend to Internet audio as well. (Commercial broadcasters in the US pay royalties to songwriters and composers through organizations such as BMI and ASCAP, rather than directly to copyright holders.) A US district…

Wadia Auction Postponed for Two Weeks

The public auction of the assets of Wadia Digital Corporation has been postponed for at least two weeks, according to an employee of the Minneapolis law firm Siegel, Brill, Greupner, Duffy & Foster, P.A., which is handling the liquidation.

According to the employee, the sale is a "bulk auction—one lot, all or nothing" affair, intended to sell the company intact, despite implications in the original public notice (reproduced below) that individual finished goods might be available. No Wadia audio products are available, and interested audiophiles should not call the law firm, which was…

Added to the Archives This Week

Any audiophile who stumbles onto one of the more cantankerous audio newsgroups ("wreck audio opinion," anyone?) may wonder what has happened to the modern breed of audiophiles. One suspects that religious wars pale when compared to how some audio pundits jostle against each other! But over the years, there has always been a wide variety of opinion. For a perspective written decades ago that still holds true today, we present J. Gordon Holt's classic "Why Hi-Fi Experts Disagree."

Next, we bring Web readers part one in a three-part series that attempts to reveal how Stereophile's audio…

Orchestras Fight Noise Law

Should performing arts be limited by health or environmental concerns? The Association of British Orchestras thinks not, according to a recent BBC News item.

Members of the association are fighting to exempt orchestral music from a European Union directive that would institute strict limits on noise in the workplace. The EU hopes to impose an 83dB noise-level limitation throughout Europe—even if the workplace is a symphonic hall. A noise level that low would make it impossible to legally play most classical warhorse compositions, ABO director Libby MacNamara told BBC News Online: "It will…

1998 Audio News in the Rear-View Mirror

What a year. Stereophile.com ran hundreds of stories in 1998, covering events big and small in the intersecting realms of business, publishing, technology, and music---with some irresistible oddities thrown in here and there as journalistic spice. It's overwhelming to look back over Stereophile's first full year of online publishing and see exactly how much has happened. We've gone far, and sometimes wide, to bring you the news from an audiophile perspective.

From our admittedly self-referential point of view, the biggest event of the year was Petersen Publishing's purchase of…

Apogee Users' Group Now Online

The demise of Apogee Acousitics three years ago was one of high-end audio's biggest losses. The company's ribbon loudspeakers were among the best-sounding and best-looking high-fidelity products ever made. What remained of Apogee was picked up by a/d/s/, which at the time made a commitment to supply parts and service for the thousands of speakers in use, but that plan appears to have been abandoned shortly after it was announced. Apogee owners have since had to fend for themselves.

Last year, we ran a notice of a New York–based Apogee users' group, begun by a fellow named Matt Carnicelli…

Universal Music Goes with SACD

Have the format wars begun in earnest? Only a few days after Warner Brothers announced the DVD-Audio release of Paul Simon's You're the One, Universal Music Group announced its plan to release titles in the Super Audio CD format.

Universal, one of the music industry's dominant players, has apparently decided the time is right to make a move into high-resolution audio, and will throw its considerable weight behind the format jointly developed by Sony and Philips. "UMG looks forward to providing consumers with a compelling musical experience. Super Audio CD provides extraordinary resolution…

Added to the Archives This Week

Earlier this year, Kalman Rubinson spent some time with the Rotel RB 1080 power amplifier. "What could be easier to review than a power amplifier? No features or functions aside from inputs, outputs, and a power switch," remarks KR. But as Rubinson finds, it's the details that count.

Wes Phillips wanted to review the company's V-3 power amp, but found out he really needed to review the Ayre Acoustics K-1 preamplifier. Phillips provides the details. Also included this week is an interview WP conducted with the preamp's designer, Ayre Acoustics' Charlie Hansen.

J. Gordon Holt's…