UK Music Sales Rise
Contrary to popular assumption, music downloads and CD sales may reinforce each other. That's one reasonable interpretation of mid-February music industry statistics from the United Kingdom.
UK's Mordaunt-Short Speaker Brand Acquired by Richer Sounds
The shock news on November 18, 1998---that the highly regarded British speaker brand Mordaunt-Short was to be closed down (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10316/">previous story)---seems to have achieved the desired result. On December 30, Audio Partnership plc announced it was acquiring the Mordaunt-Short brand from TGI plc (Tannoy Goodmans International).
Ultimate Dan D'Agostino & YG Event in San Diego Saturday
Saturday, November 17, all day, Alma Music and Audio (7847 Convoy Court, #101, San Diego, CA 92111) is holding an open house to introduce what they call Dan D'Agostino's masterpiece, the Relentless Monoblock, to the Southern California public. The Relentless power amplifiers will be used to power YG Acoustics' Sonja XV loudspeakers, which are also making their debut in Southern California. The Sonja XV is an extreme, four-tower version of the Sonja. It incorporates everything YG knows about speaker design and was created to celebrate YG's 15th anniversary.
Ultimate Ears "Everybody Wins" Contest
Ultimate Ears, the headphone company that specializes in in-ear monitors such as the UE-5chttp://stereophile.com/headphones/1204ultimate/">UE-5c;, is developing a new model slated to join the super.fihttp://www.ultimateears.com/superfi/superfi.htm">super.fi; family of products. During the prototyping period, the design crew referred to the new model as "XXX" (triple X).
Ultimate Electronics' Great Leap Forward
Growing pains aren't always unpleasant. In the case of Denver-based Ultimate">http://www.ultimateelectronics.com">Ultimate Electronics, they might be completely enjoyable.
Ultra-high Data Density
Pure technology developments don't often have an audiophile angle, but a February 9 announcement from InPhase">http://www.inphase-tech.com">InPhase Technologies caught our attention.
Ultralink's Don Bouchard Dead at 58
Don Bouchard, Ultralink/XLO Products' executive vice-president, succumbed February 7, 2008 from injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident on December 15, 2007. Bouchard, riding with friends, had his front wheel drop into a hole in the pavement while traversing a railroad crossing and was thrown over his handlebars. The resulting injuries included a severe skull fracture, right-brain trauma, a broken clavicle, a broken rib, which punctured a lung, as well as internal trauma, multiple contusions, and bruising.
Ultralink's Don Bouchard Injured in Motorcycle Accident
We received word December 21 that Ultralink/XLO Products executive vice-president Don Bouchard was injured in a "serious motorcycle accident in Texas." Bouchard is currently recovering in a Houston hospital, surrounded by his family, close friends, and business associates. Knowing Don, we're sure that's a packed hospital room.
Ultralink/XLO Buyout
Like the companies in most high-tech industries, audio businesses are a volatile lot, with startups, mergers, acquisitions—and the occasional bankruptcy or flame-out—not uncommon. In that ongoing tradition, at the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Ultralink">http://www.ultralinkcables.com">Ultralink Products announced on January 7 its intention to purchase the assets of cable manufacturer XLO">http://www.xloelectric.com">XLO Electric.
UMG Kicks DRM—Mostly
Universal Music Group CEO Doug Morris isn't exactly a fan of portable digital players—in November 2006, he referred to them as "just repositories for stolen music." Yet, on August 9, UMG announced that it would offer at least some of its artists' music as MP3 files without digital rights management (DRM) on RealNetworks, Wal-Mart, Amazon, Rhapsody, PureTracks, Transworld, and artists' own websites. Everywhere, that is, except on Apple's iTunes Store, where UMG files will have Apple's FairPlay DRM installed.