Service Continues for Legacy Thiel Loudspeakers
There's good news for owners of Thiel loudspeakers manufactured between 1977 and 2012. Coherent Source Service of Lexington, Kentucky, will provide Thiel warranty and non-warranty service for customers worldwide. The company has been founded by Rob Gillum, who worked with Thiel for over 30 years and eventually became Director of Manufacturing.
Serving Up Audio
I admit to being a little surprised at the results of our Discs">http://cgi.stereophile.com/cgi-bin/showvote.cgi?403">Discs or Downloads poll a couple of weeks ago. More of you (65%) see a future for downloads as a viable music medium than I would have expected. As reader Mike Garner put it, "As bandwidth and storage continue to become cheaper, audiophile quality music downloads are inevitable." "Downloads save you trips to the shop or having to wait for shipping when you shop online. We'll soon be loading the data into a music server anyway," adds reader Ola Roll.
Several Announcements from RealNetworks Intended to Light Up Online Music Distribution
In an Internet world, the audiophile's quest for sound quality via high-resolution formats like DVD-Audio or SACD might be the last gasps of a dying generation. New media and technology companies like Liquid">http://www.liquidaudio.com/">Liquid Audio, Diamond">http://www.diamondmultimedia.com/">Diamond Multimedia, and RealNetworkshttp://www.real.com">RealNetworks; are betting that the new generations of music lovers care more about how music is distributed, stored, and manipulated than about how it ultimately sounds. Les Garland, one of the founders of MTV and VH-1, has stated that "Technology fueled the growth of the market for music during the time when we pioneered music on cable. The Internet is having a similar effect, tenfold, driving artists and consumers to embrace digital media."
Several Audio Manufacturers Join the Online Retailing Stampede
The Internet is beginning to pose quite a dilemma for high-end audio manufacturers, especially ones with limited distribution in major markets such as the US. Do you risk alienating potential bricks-and-mortar dealers in an effort to gain widespread exposure by offering your products online? Or do you slowly build distribution through the traditional stores that for years have been high-end audio's haven?
Several Beach Boys Classics Remixed to 5.1 Surround Sound
Last week, Capitol">http://www.capitolrecords.com/">Capitol Records announced that it will release expanded DVD and VHS editions of Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story. The documentary, produced by Stephanie Bennett and directed by Alan Boyd, made its US television debut on VH1 in 1998. A soundtrack CD of Endless Harmony, originally released to coincide with the VH1 airing, is also available.
Share a Tune, Go to Jail
Will the threat of lawsuits have any effect on the file-sharing phenomenon? The music industry hopes and prays that it will. As of July 19, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) had sought and obtained "at least 871 federal subpoenas against computer users . . . with 75 new subpoenas being approved each day," according to an Associated Press report.
Sharp Announces New "One-Bit" Amps
Sharp Electronics has announced a new lineup of "one-bit" digital amplifiers that may herald a new generation of audio products.
Sharp's 1-Bit Technology Goes Portable
Advances in technology almost always debut at the high-end and gradually filter down to mass-market products. Sharp">http://www.sharp-usa.com">Sharp Corporation's 1-bit digital amplification technology is no exception.
Sharp's New 1-Bit Audio Products
Sharp">http://www.sharp-usa.com">Sharp Electronics has come a long way from the household appliances and modest home entertainment products it has long been famous for. (The company's name derives from its first product, a retracting pencil.) Sharp is making a serious, prolonged push into upscale audio and video, as evidenced by the array of new models on display at a dealer and media conference held in late August at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, a hotel/golf resort north of San Diego.
Shift Happens
Stereophile.com was feeling a little bit old.
We'd have to go back to September 2005 to recall the last major changes
made to our website. It was then that we began adding our forums and
blogs, which moved slowly at first, went through some growing pains, and
finally became some of our most popular online destinations. About a
year later, we made other minor revisions, altering the look and feel of
our site to make it friendlier, more attractive, and easier to use.
These were all great moves, but the nature of the Web demands
near-constant renewal. The time had come for some tube-rolling. Or, if
you prefer, we needed to augment our physical media with a high-res,
lightning-fast, computer-based system. Look at it however you like.
The situation was clear: We were overdue for a facelift.