Grateful Dead, Folkways Open the Digital Vaults
As Jon Iverson points out in another">http://www.stereophile.com/news/041105serving">another posting this week, a surprising number of readers expect downloads to be a viable music acquisition option in the very near future. Perhaps it's closer than we think.
Gray Forecast or Silver Lining?
Social distancing. Flattening the curve. These expressions are embedded in our collective psyche as we to try to keep COVID-19 and the novel coronavirus that causes it at bay. Few of us who live through this will ever forget them.
But life and work must somehow go on, if at a slower pace than before.
Great Expectations for CES and T.H.E. Show
Given the state of the economy, speculation abounds concerning major declines in the numbers of exhibitors and attendees at this year's audio/video shows in Las Vegas. If the advance numbers can be trusted, however, that will be anything but the case this January 8–11, when the high-end audio exhibits of both the Consumer Electronics Show and T.H.E. Show will be open.
Great Sound, Cool Designs Abound at HE 2001
In suite 949, Nashville, TN-based Nearfield">http://www.nearfieldacoustics.com">Nearfield Acoustics debuted an unnamed new model in its PipeDreams series of tower loudspeakers, one that sounds very promising. To sell for an estimated $10,000/pair, the speaker boasts a 98dB sensitivity rating and improved coherence over its predecessors, the result of using a horn-loading technique for the tweeters, according to company principal Craig Oxford. The new cabinet design is rounded in the back, allowing a single piece of veneer to be wrapped around it, yielding a literally seamless look. There are big bucks awaiting whoever comes up with a suitable name for the product, Oxford mentioned. "Opium" was my suggestion. Hey, it works for perfume.
Great sound; great music! Day Two at England's The Hi-Fi Show 98
Wandering around the halls of the Heathrow Renaissance Hotel, I saw and heard a lot more affordable audio on display than I've seen at most American shows. This makes sense. After all, this is a consumer show (or it will be tomorrow---yesterday and today were trade days), and, while consumers want to fantasize about the state of the art, they also like to see kit they can actually own. Me too.
Green Light for Sony-BMG?
The proposed merger of the music divisions of Sony Corporation and Bertelsmann AG may win approval from European Union regulators, according to reports from Brussels on June 18.
Grimm tales at High End Vienna, Part 1: Grimm Audio LS2 loudspeakers
In Part 1 of a two-part interview series, Ola Björling speaks with Eelco Grimm of Grimm Audio at High End Vienna 2026 about his company's upcoming LS2 loudspeakers.
Grimm tales at High End Vienna, Part 2: Grimm Audio PA1 monoblock power amplifier
In Part 2 of a two-part interview series, Ola Björling speaks with Guido Tent of Grimm Audio at High End Vienna 2026 about his company's PA1 monoblock power amplifier.
Grokster Decision Leaves Matters Murky
On June 27, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Metro-Goldwin-Mayer (MGM), agreeing that peer-to-peer file-sharing services such as StreamCast Networks and Grokster could be held responsible (read: be sued) if they encouraged their users to infringe copyrights. This will return the "MGM vs Grokster" case to a lower court, where it will be determined whether or not the P2P companies encouraged their users to violate copyright laws.
Grokster Gone, RIAA Gloats
On November 7, four months after a Supreme Court decision determined that file-sharing services could be held liable for the actions of their users, Grokster agreed to stop distributing its software and to pay $50 million in damages.