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Added to the Archives This Week

Larry Greenhill says he'll never forget his first encounter with the Krell LAT-1 loudspeaker at a meeting of the Westchester Audiophile Society. Suitably impressed, Greenhill reports, "I'd been bitten. I made arrangements to continue the audition in my own listening room." His complete analysis awaits.

While testing the KEF RDM Two loudspeaker at Stereophile headquarters, John Atkinson suggested that perhaps someone should take the speakers home for a more in-depth review. Wes Phillips volunteered on the spot, and as he reports, is glad he did.

Next, in Stereophile's February, 1996…

Thomson's IPO Helps RCA Regain Prominence

For the first time in more than 10 years, individual investors have a chance to own a piece of one of the oldest and most recognized names in the American electronics industry. As of November 1, RCA officially came back on the stock market, when parent company Thomson Multimedia made a successful initial public offering of 21 million shares. The stock (NYSE: TMS) debuted at $22.62 per share and closed Friday, November 5 at $29.25.

Founded in 1919, the Radio Corporation of America was the most successful maker of radio receivers, phonographs, microphones, amplifiers, and other audio…

Threshold Service to Debut Soon

Owners of Threshold electronics will soon have an expert service organization available for their amplifiers and preamps. Threshold Corporation national sales manager Chris English reports that he has assumed the presidency of a new company to be devoted solely to servicing Threshold equipment. Based in Texas, Threshold Service Company will employ factory-trained technicians and engineers, and will offer warranties on all their work.

"It's our intent to provide service on every piece of Threshold equipment manufactured from the beginning," English said near the end of December. Units…

The Audio Frontier

Downloading audio files onto a computer's hard drive has proven a compelling way to collect content for many music lovers. But the weak link with computer-based audio systems is finding a way to play that music on a more traditional (and typically better-sounding) audio system. With a compatible CD or DVD player, you could burn the files onto a disc, or if you have a portable device such as an iPod, you could hook it up directly to your system.

But several consumer electronics manufacturers have decided that for Internet-based music distribution to ultimately succeed, there has to be a…

Hackers Reply to Berman Bill

In apparent response to proposed federal legislation that would permit copyright holders to launch technological strikes against privately-owned computers, hackers launched an attack of their own over the weekend of July 27–28, rendering the website of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) unusable.

The RIAA, and its companion organization, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), are strong backers of proposed legislation introduced into the US House of Representatives by Southern California Democrat Howard Berman that would permit them to engage in electronic…

Sony BMG Root Kit Settlement Approved

On Monday, May 22, federal judge Naomi Reice Buchwald granted final approval to the settlement of the class action suit brought against Sony BMG for embedding intrusive and crippling digital rights management (DRM) software into its CDs. Not only did the software load secretly onto users' computers, it opened them to malware invasions, in addition to reportedly sending Sony information about consumers' computers.

The agreement covers anyone who "purchased, received, or used" CDs containing the flawed DRM after August 2003. Sony has ceased manufacturing CDs with the offending software. The…

Injunction Issued Against Rio

In a story last week, we covered the efforts of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to prevent portable MP3 players from entering the market without copy-protection measures in place. On August 16, a federal court entered a temporary restraining order (TRO) to enjoin the distribution and sale of Diamond Multimedia's Rio PMP300 portable MP3 recording device.

According to the RIAA, the court granted a motion, filed by the RIAA and the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies (AARC), seeking a TRO based on the judge's conclusion that the organizations are likely to prevail…

Crash, Don't Burn

You have to wonder what Sony is thinking. The product copy claims that the new Sony "VAIO Digital Studio" computer is the company's "incredible computing and entertainment hybrid combining television, recording, playback and even music." Oooops. Forget about that music part, especially if you purchase Sony Music's latest Celine Dion CD.

It would appear that the company's right music hand is trying to chop off it's computing left as European consumers are discovering that Dion's new disc has been crippled so that it will not play on a computer's CD drive—or worse. Early reports on…

"Soul Man" Case Settled

Singer Sam Moore has won a protracted lawsuit brought against retirement fund trustees of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). The settlement of the nine-year-old case was announced in an Atlanta federal court on Wednesday, December 5.

Moore, the Sam of legendary soul act Sam & Dave, was instrumental in litigation that involved 14 other artists, including the estate of the late singer Mary Wells. The artists and their attorneys agreed to settle for $8.4 million in a case that eventually found union members battling administrators of their own retirement…

New Computer Device May Revive Radio Hobby

Remember how your Uncle Charlie used to hole up in the basement with his ham radio rig? He'd spend hours down there, tweaking his equipment and chatting in an arcane jargon with fellow hobbyists around the world.

The radio hobby---in its early days, closely allied with the audio hobby---has fallen on hard times in recent years. The personalities who might have been attracted to radio have mostly given themselves over to computers. But a new development from Rosetta Laboratories of Melbourne, Australia, may revive amateur radio and simultaneously introduce it to a whole new generation of…