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The oldest verified surviving recording is an 1878 tin cylinder of a talking clock (you can hear it at tinfoil.com/cm-0101.htm). There's just one problem, however; the recording's surface noise is so pronounced that you can barely hear the featured attraction. Chalk it up to age, imperfect recording media, poor storage, or even to the ravages of mold, but the facts remain the same—we're in danger of losing our audio patrimony: the hundreds of thousands of historical recordings from the dawn of recording.
Sharp Electronics has announced a new lineup of "one-bit" digital amplifiers that may herald a new generation of audio products.
The new amplifiers are based on Sharp's one-bit technology, introduced two years ago, and include two high-end designs: the SM-SX1 ($4500), and the DX-SX1 ($3000), both available now. Two one-bit compact systems, the SD-NX10 and the SD-SG11, each priced at around $1800, will appear in September.
Announced July 24, the digital amplifiers are similar to the top-of-the-line $16,000 SD-SX100, reviewed by Michael Fremer in the July 2000 issue of Stereophile. As…
Legislation establishing royalties to be paid by small webcasters is stalled in the US Senate until after the November elections.
The bill codifies rates already agreed to by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Voice of the Webcasters (VOW) organization, and was unanimously approved by the US House of Representatives on October 7. Its future is now in doubt after North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms placed a "hold" on it October 17, effective until after the Senate reconvenes on November 12, after elections. A hold is an informal delay.
Helms was the third…
Sony has recently revealed that they will be broadcasting digital audio via satellite as early as summer 1998. The planned service is the result of a deal made between Sony, Perfect TV, and Japan Sky Broadcasting Corporation (JSkyB) that is expected to close in April.
Broadcasts will cover Japan and are expected to be mostly music; they will feature performers from music labels and countries from around the world. Unique video programs are also planned for development.
According to a Sony statement: "The new company will utilize the know-how regarding the music and visual software…
The Home Entertainment Show 2006, running June 1–4 at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Los Angeles, is only weeks away. Here is a sampling of some of the giveaways and special events that will take place at the Show. Several of these should be of particular interest to home-theater enthusiasts.
Ladies' Day
It's Ladies' Day on Sunday, June 4, and XM Satellite Radio—Oprah's digital radio home is inviting all ladies to attend the Show for free! Each woman who attends the show and is accompanied by another adult who has purchased a ticket—will receive free admittance to the Show!. Sunday,…
Medford, Long Island–based manufacturer Shahinian Acoustics has announced a recapitalization and a manufacturing-facilities expansion to meet demand for its quasi-omnidirectional loudspeakers. In a related development, Vasken Shahinian has succeeded his father as president and managing director.
Company founder Richard Shahinian (who will stay on as chief designer) explained that the recapitalization, from private sources, has enabled the company, which he founded in 1974, to move to larger premises nearby and, for the first time, to bring its cabinetmaking operations under the same roof as…
After 53 years of publication, Audio magazine, owned and operated by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, is closing its doors this week. Often rumored to be on the ropes, the magazine had recently attempted a new editorial direction and artistic facelift.
In a brief statement, group publisher Tony Catalano hinted that the magazine's demise was actually a result of problems in the high-end sector of the audio business. Catalano comments that, "faced with ongoing difficulties in the market sector now served by Audio, we have had to reconsider publication of a magazine dedicated only to high-…
Tweeter's new look: Tweeter Home Entertainment Group is entering the first phase of a massive makeover—with redesigned stores and a new marketing approach emphasizing custom installation and media-server–based home-theater products. The company will de-emphasize individual components and pitch its services toward women, who make most decisions about home entertainment and home décor. The company's pitch will be "We can untangle your mind," a reference to the widespread frustration with semi-compatible and often incomprehensible technologies. Over the next 18 months, Tweeter will consolidate…
When I compiled the votes HI-FI '98 attendees had cast for "Best Sound at the Show," the ultimate winner was the room and system assembled by Los Angeles retailer Christopher Hansen 2---the latest Evolution 2 version of the mighty Martin-Logan Statement electrostatic speaker system, driven by multiple VTL Wotan two-chassis tube monoblocks. Cabling was Cardas Neutral Reference, and the digital front end was by Wadia---a 270 CD transport and the new 27i digital decoding computer---with some tonal shaping courtesy of a Z-Systems Transparent Tone Control. Component stands were from pARTicular.…
As we reported last week, the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) held hearings on January 24 exploring regulations to insert "Broadcast Flags" and "Audio Flags" into broadcast signals and audio recordings—markers that would prevent electronic devices from recording the flagged material. What we did not anticipate last week was that the hearings would trigger an outpouring of common sense.
John Sununu (R-NH), an MIT graduate, questioned the necessity of the restriction. He said that advocates of the restriction maintained that its absence would "stifle creativity." He demurred. "We have now an…