Remembering Yoshiaki Sugano
The creator of Koetsu phono cartridges passed away on Sunday, January 20, 2002, just a couple of months short of reaching the age of 95. A wake was held in Chiba, Japan on January 22; the funeral took place on the following day.
ReQuest Unveils Home Stereo MP3 Unit at MP3 Summit99
The MP3 audio format has been rapidly gaining a solid reputation in the last several months. Portable products such as Diamond">http://www.diamondmm.com/">Diamond Multimedia's Rio have hit the market, and websites (typified by MP3.com) have gained financial success. (See related">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10358/">related story.) But one area that has so far lagged is MP3-based playback and recording equipment for using the files at home without moving a computer next to the stereo.
Requiem For a Record Store
On Friday, January 20, five different friends forwarded Chris Morris' The Hollywood Reporter column on the closing of LA's Westwood Boulevard Rhino Records store. Established in 1973, the record store closed its doors on January 19 (although it staged a parking lot sale on January 21 and 22). Rhino owner Richard Foos blamed the store's demise on a number of factors, including pricing competition from national chains, the lack of demand for "a physical product," and "too many other things to do and too many ways to get your music without paying $18 for a CD."
Resistance is Futile
As any major college dude will tell you, the file-sharing genie can never be put back into the digital audio bottle. But that hasn't stopped the music business from pursuing its scorched-market policy while simultaneously applying various use-restriction technologies to every digital audio format in sight.
Resolution AV Debuts Fyne Audio in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NYC
On Thursday January 30th, the frigid landscape of Red Hook, Brooklyn, was the site of several audio-focused debuts. Adam Wexler's Resolution AV, a purveyor of high-end audio, celebrated its grand reopening, showcasing new products from Fyne Audio. Fyne Audio CEO Max Maud and Harmonia Distribution Vice President Jesse Luna were on hand to introduce the new products and answer questions.
Restricting CDs, Version 5
The digital audio genie was released two decades ago, before the music industry imagined any need to restrict how music files on a compact disc might be used. The last few years, however, have seen myriad attempts to redesign the digital audio bottle, and then shove the genie back in—with limited success.
Retail Bouncing Back?
Retail may be bouncing back. Best Buy, North America's number one electronics chain, reported an 18% gain in total sales for its third quarter ended November 29. The Richfield, MN–based operation posted $6.03 billion in total sales, with same-store sales up 8.6%.
Retail Roundup
Wiz stores in bankruptcy: Only a week after being acquired from Cablevision by GBO Electronics Acquisition LLC, The Wiz stores initiated a bankruptcy petition in the District of Delaware to "maximize company assets," according to a March 14 press release from TW Inc., as The Wiz is now known. The 17-store electronics chain is seeking protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of US bankruptcy law and approval to conduct going-out-of-business sales at its stores in the New York metro area.
Retail Roundup
IPOs are jumping and the Nasdaq is up—some mid-summer economic indicators point toward a recovery, but you wouldn't know it from retail reports. Circuit City, Good Guys, and Harvey Electronics are singing the blues, while discounter Costco is whistling all the way to the bank.
Retail Sales Sluggish
Electronics retailers typically depend on the winter holiday shopping season to boost their year-end bottom lines. The hoped-for buying surge apparently hasn't happened in 2002, since Best Buy and Circuit City are both projecting slow sales.