An Afternoon With Audio Research and McIntosh in Maryland, Next Saturday
Bethesda, MD retailer JS Audio (4919 St. Elmo Avenue) is having an open house Saturday November 22, 12pm4pm to debut the new Audio Research Galileo Series amplifier and preamplifier with the Wilson Audio Alexandria XLF loudspeakers!
An Audio Archivist's Dream
Music fans who use their computers to organize their CD or MP3 music libraries have found the CDDB music database, now owned and operated by Gracenotehttp://www.gracenote.com">Gracenote; (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11046/">previous story), to be an essential part of their audio world. If you use CDDB-enabled hardware or software, the artist, album title, genre, and track titles will automatically display when you put a CD or load an MP3 file into your computer or compliant player.
An Audio Conspiracy?
For any good battle, it helps to have several key ingredients. First, there has to be an underlying conflict that cannot be settled with diplomatic ease---it is especially important that both combatants covet the same property. Second, each side has to set a propaganda machine in motion to create the appearance of a noble struggle for the good of "the people" that transcends the simple fight for turf control. Third, the outcome of such a battle should have implications stretching far into the future. And finally, these days it helps if the press notices.
An Audio Dispatch from Saratov, Russia
Editor's Note: I received an e-mail from Leonid asking for advice on audio cables a few weeks back, and we quickly began discussing the local audio scene in his hometown in Russia. I asked him to describe it for me; what follows is his report.---JI
An Audio Waterworld
The quest to secretly track music fans continues: Royal">http://www.philips.com">Royal Philips Electronics and Digimarchttp://www.digimarc.com">Digimarc; announced last week that they have signed a new agreement that extends the licensing of Digimarc's digital watermarking patents to include audio applications as well as a broader range of video applications.
An Audio/Video Event in Silverdale, Washington
On 26 June at 6pm, Kitsap AV in Silverdale, WA, will be hosting an event at which representatives from several manufacturers—Greg Topp from KLH, Dave Kakenmaster from GoldenEar, Stan Beil from Audioquest, Matt Silberstein from Market Share, and Jordan Gerber from Bob Carver Corporation—will be showing off new products new products.
An Audiophile Sampler
One of the hot items audiophiles were able to score at last month's 2005 CES was a hybrid SACD that Ray Kimber was handing out. Labelled IsoMike Tests 2005A, the disc is beautifully packaged and sports dozens of recorded snippets of vocal music, string quartet, piano, marching band, orchestra, blank pistol, and a local janitor.
An Evening with Dave & Daryl Wilson Thursday in Santa Monica
Thursday May 12, The Audio Salon (The Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave (Gallery F1), Santa Monica, CA 90404), 4:45pm8:00pm, is hosting an evening with David and Daryl Wilson, to celebrate Wilson Audio Specialties' first 42 years. Dave and Daryl, beginning at 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 7:00pm, will give three 50-minute presentations in the art gallery area. As well as discussing the culture and history of Wilson, what has changed since those nascent days when Daryl sat on his father's lap and listened to the first prototype WAMM, they will demonstrate Wilson's new Alexx loudspeaker.
An Industry in Free Fall
Physical sales of music plummetedhttp://www.ifpi.org/content/library/MUSIC-MARKET-DATA-2007.pdf">plummet…; at a rate that exceeded the sales growth of legal downloads in 2007, according to the IFPI. While global digital sales grew by 40% in 2007—representing about 10% of all music sold—IFPI figures suggest that CD sales in the US dropped by 19% (10.5% in the UK).
An Inside Look at Top Recording Studios
Stereophile readers tend to exhibit above-average interest in the art and science of reproducing music in the home. Those whose interest extends back up the recording chain and into the recording studio may want to take a look at the Prestige">http://www.studiosource.com/prestige">Prestige Studios of the World website, developed by an Internet company looking to show off its digital wares.