von Lohmann Gives Us the Low-Down
Last week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) Fred">http://www.stereophile.com/news/031306eff/">Fred von Lohmann talked with us about how fair use created unexpected riches for Hollywood, created the iPod boom, and how dismantling it could prove disastrous for consumers. This week, we resume that conversation with a discussion about digital rights management (DRM) and why the computer industry is willing to support it, even though its consumers never asked for it.
Von Schweikert Back from the Flood
As reported last March, loudspeaker manufacturer Von Schweikert Research closed its doors after a disastrous flood hit the factory (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10413/">previous report). Many thought this was the end of the story, but last week, Dr. Edward Gonzaga, of the Gonzaga Investment Group, announced the formation of a new version of the company, to be named Von">mailto:albertvonn@aol.com">Von Schweikert Audio.
Von Schweikert Saga Continues
Accidents and disasters have no sense of good timing, and when they strike have a way of fouling even the most promising love affairs. Case in point: loudspeaker manufacturer Von">http://www.vonschweikert.com/">Von Schweikert Research and the small town of Watertown (pop. 30,000) in northern New York, about three hours' drive from Toronto.
VPI Open House in New Jersey Saturday
Saturday, November 14, 16pm: VPI Industries (10 Riverside Lane, Holmdel) will host an Open House/Listening Party. Guests will be able to enjoy four rooms, each furnished with a system that has been carefully optimized for the specific listening environment. The event will highlight two new pieces of electronics: the Luminous Audio Arion Phonostage (above) and the Fern & Roby Integrated Amplifier, both engineered by Mike Bettinger of Bettinger Audio. Manufacturer representatives from all three companies will be on hand to answer questions and demonstrate the products.
VPI–AudioQuest Event in New Jersey Friday
Friday May 20, from 2-10pm, Hi-Fi Sales (1732 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003) is hosting an event in which audiophiles can get their first look at VPI's brand new ADS (Analog Drive System) speed controller
VQF Digital Audio Format Enjoying Renewed Interest
Fans of Macintosh computers and Betamax videotape are fond of pointing out that in the free market, the best technologies don't necessarily win. That scenario may be playing out again in the case of VQFhttp://www.vqf.com/">VQF;, a digital audio transfer and storage technology originally developed several years ago by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone.
VSAC 2008 For Everyone
After a four-year hiatus, the Vacuum">http://www.vsac2008.com">Vacuum State of the Art Conference and Show has been resurrected. Scheduled for next weekend, May 24–26, at the Hilton Hotel in Vancouver, Washington, just across the river from Portland, Oregon, VSAC owes its renewal to audio enthusiasts and software company owners Carolyn S. and Michael Kilfoil, who have taken over from founders Dan and Eileen Schmalle.
VTL/Wilson/Transparent at Innovative Audio: Selling “Happy”
Photo: Jim Austin
"'Happy' is our primary product," Elliot Fishkin, the proprietor of Innovative Audio, which is entering its 45th year of business, told visitors early Thursday evening, January 21. "We want you to be able to be connected to the music in profound ways." A small crowd was gathered in the lobby outside Innovative's newly renovated showrooms, in an expansive underground space on the east side of Manhattan, to hear amplifiers by VTL, cables by Transparent, and loudspeakers by Wilson Audio.Wadia Announces Launch of iPod Dock with S/PDIF Output
Wadia Digital, Inc. announced that it will debut the $349 iTransport iPod dock in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) January 7, 2008. Certified by Apple as "Made for iPod®," the iTransport bypasses the iPod's internal D/A conversion to output an S/PDIF signal, "providing CD-quality resolution from full-resolution from file formats such as .WAV and [Apple Lossless]."
Wadia Auction Postponed for Two Weeks
The public auction of the assets of Wadia">http://www.wadia.com/">Wadia Digital Corporation has been postponed for at least two weeks, according to an employee of the Minneapolis law firm Siegel, Brill, Greupner, Duffy & Foster, P.A., which is handling the liquidation.