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Digital Audio Direct from Satellite is on the Horizon

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…

Special Events & Giveaways at HE 2006

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,…

High-End Faces

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…

<I>Audio</I> Magazine Throws In the Towel

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-…

Industry Roundup

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…

It's Party Time at Christopher Hansen!

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.…

Did an iPod Scuttle the Flag?

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…

Hales Drivers Available at Madisound

We have received an update from loudspeaker designer Paul Hales on the availability of replacement parts for Hales loudspeakers. In a previous interview, he had mentioned the availability of cabinet and crossover parts for his namesake products. Some of that information was in error, due to circumstances beyond his control, he explained in a recent email:

Wadia's landlord in Huntington Beach prevented us from retrieving parts from the building: therefore, there are no cabinet or crossover components available. However, Madisound, a loudspeaker distributor in Madison, WI, is stocking…

DTS Gains European Foothold

Graham Nash and Frank Zappa will be DTS Entertainment's first artists to debut in Europe on DVD-Audio, thanks to an agreement between DTSE and Cadiz Music, Ltd., a distributor in Greenwich, England. DTS Entertainment is the entertainment division of Digital Theater Systems, Inc., based in Agoura Hills, CA.

Cadiz will oversee the distribution of DTSE music titles throughout Europe, according to a September 8 announcement. Cadiz will roll out the entire line of DTSE 5.1 music discs and DVD-Audio titles via a direct network of music distributors serving major European markets. The first…

TunePlugs Put Magnatunes Under Your Thumb

As the cost of data storage has continued to plunge, some industry pundits (well, www.stereophile.com's Jon Iverson) have predicted that the next step in adding value to them would be to give the devices away, but sell the music or data they contain. On March 10, online music label Magnatune and Samsung spin-off Hana Micron fulfilled that prediction with a product called the TunePlug: It's a reusable USB flash memory drive that comes loaded with 10 complete albums from Magnatune artists in MP3 file format.

Magnatune is an innovative, independent online record label that sells its music…