Boy, does J-10 get letters. In Fine Tunes #34, he details yet another batch of tips'n'tweaks from "all you Victims of the Musical Quest." Sweet Spot to the rescue.
It's a battle as old as the Edison wax cylinder: consumers want to buy audio…
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Jonathan Scull asks "What's it take to compete on the bleeding edge of digital?" Apparently more than what's offered by the "large international manufacturing and marketing concerns stalking the earth today." Will the Accuphase DP-100 Super Audio CD transport & DC-101 Digital Processor make the cut? Scull's incisive report reveals all.
Media critics may be right: If record companies had spent as much effort building a digital distribution network as they have fighting digital piracy, they might actually be making money online instead of complaining about it. This is the conclusion of a new report from KPMG and the Economist Intelligence Unit.
According to the study, "companies are wasting too many resources fighting digital piracy while overlooking potential opportunities the technology offers." KPMG says the report was conducted to gauge the media industry's progress in managing and delivering digital content.
A…
One might think that the publisher of "The Largest Marketplace in the World for Audiophile Equipment" would have a vested interest in encouraging trading activity among his readers. One would think that such a publisher might take a neutral stance regarding fluctuations in the world market for used equipment. One would think that he would credit his readers with sufficient intelligence to decide for themselves whether any specific purchase, sale, or trade was a good deal.
One would be wrong on all counts. Walt Bender, publisher of Audiomart, long one of the dominant publications in the…
For any good battle, it helps to have several key ingredients. First, there has to be an underlying conflict that cannot be settled with diplomatic ease---it is especially important that both combatants covet the same property. Second, each side has to set a propaganda machine in motion to create the appearance of a noble struggle for the good of "the people" that transcends the simple fight for turf control. Third, the outcome of such a battle should have implications stretching far into the future. And finally, these days it helps if the press notices.
All four appear to be working to…
Quad's David Patching was all smiles as he showed off the company's new CD player, called simply the CD-P. No SACD or DVD-A, said Patching, who says they'll wait until either a ton of high-rez discs are sold (not just produced) or until the format war is over and a clear winner emerges.
In the meantime, the CD-P sells for $1500, and unlike the previous Quad CD spinner, has its own power supply. It is based on the top-of-the-line Philips laser mechanism, which has the added benefit of playing unfinalized CD-Rs and CD-RWs. The player also sports a Crystal delta-sigma hybrid DAC that…
As expected, the Recording Industry Association of America held a press conference last week to announce the formation of the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) which hopes to develop internet downloading technologies for music. The move comes after a rough year for the music business who has seen thousands of unauthorized websites offer copyrighted material for free using the MP3 audio format.
Joining technology firms including AOL, Sony and Microsoft are several major labels including BMG Entertainment, EMI Recorded Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and…
Several readers have been asking "What's with all of the Musical Fidelity reviews in Stereophile?" Michael Fremer fearlessly wires the Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD player into his system, noting, "Overachievers tend to rankle people after a while."
Next, Brian Damkroger gets his hands on the GamuT CD 1 CD player. Why the GamuT? BD comments, "I'm picky, so it had to be something that sounded good. I wanted to be realistic, so it couldn't cost a fortune. And I wanted to try something new."
Also from the current May issue, John Atkinson reviews the Ayre CX-7 CD player. JA uses the…
This past week, The Academy Advancing High Performance Audio & Video (AAHPAV) released its 1998 Golden Note Awards Nominations.
Winners will be announced at the Golden Notes Awards banquet to be held at The Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey, June 10th.á Also on hand at the event will be John Hoskins, co-founder of Advantage Performance Group, who will present the keynote address, "Why Bad Things Happen to Good New Products."
According to Sue Regan, AAHPAV Chairperson, "I believe that because the Golden Note awards are decided following votes cast by manufacturers---Academy General…
Love it or hate it, MP3 users are a huge new market, as yet untapped by the music industry. Portable digital compressed-audio players, whether employing Flash memory or compact hard drives à la Apple's iPod, are estimated to begin reaching critical-mass sales numbers around 2006, with an installed base of 24 million units by 2007. Most observers agree that this dramatic growth has been driven, in large part, by the vast quantity of no-fee music that is available in the format, as well as the players' ease of use and flexibility.
Until secure MP3 players dominate the portable market,…
The WebNoize three-day conference took place last week in Los Angeles, mixing record-company executives with Internet geeks, all trying to find profitable ways to distribute music online. Tom Roli, publisher of the Webnoize website, set the tone for the event, stating that "the industry is facing great change and uncertainty due to emerging technologies, shifting global markets, and media revolutions."
Diamond Multimedia, a company we've been reporting on the last several weeks due to their tangle with the RIAA, announced several new deals to support their Rio MP3 player. Diamond and…