Changing Partners in Audioland
The new year ushered in several significant personnel changes for the audio industry.
Channel Classics Continues With SACD
Despite the recent affirmation by Stereophile's Kalman Rubinson that the Super Audio Compact Disc remains "the best available all-around physical medium for music" (May 2009, p.47), audiophiles in the US continue to declare it a dead format. Regardless, independent record producers such as Jared Sacks, founder and managing director of Holland's Channel Classics Records, continue to champion and promote SACD.
Channel Classics Goes Chinese With SACDs
Classical music specialist Channel Classics, headquartered in the Netherlands, has begun releasing the first DSD-native, hybrid multichannel SACDs recorded in China. Issued under the Channel of China imprint, the first two titles, Ambush on All Sides (CCS-SA-80106), featuring Zhang Hong Yan on solo pipa, and Soliloquy at Cold Mountain Temple (CCS-SA-80406), with the China National Symphony Orchestra under Li Xin Cao, have recently reached the US. A third SACD, featuring Yu Hong Mei on erhu (CCS-SA-80206), is scheduled to reach European shelves at the end of September and the US three or four months later.
Chapter 11 for Tower
UPDATE: On Monday, February 9, Tower Records, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Industry observers had predicted the move in the weeks leading up to the filing. MTS, Inc., as the company is officially known, listed "more than $100 million of assets and more than $100 million of debts in its filing," according to a report from Reuters news service. "MTS expects to emerge from Chapter 11 within 45 to 60 days. It plans to swap $110 million of senior debt for $30 million of new senior notes and an 85% equity stake. Existing equity holders would retain a 15% stake," the report continued.
Charitable Audiophiles
August is shaping up as a great month for audiophiles and good causes. The Cable Company's annual "Summer">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11704/">Summer Against Hunger" campaign is in full swing, and Rockford">http://www.rockfordcorp.com">Rockford Home Group has announced that the first production unit of the 50 limited-edition FAP V1 vacuum-tube surround processors (see previoushttp://www.stereophile.com/news/11711/">previous;) will be auctioned via eBay with proceeds donated to charity.
Charity Auction Prize: Private Delmoni Concert
Record producer and Stereophile contributor mailto:jmrcds@jmrcds.com"> John Marks has informed us that classical violinist Arturo Delmoni has agreed to throw his considerable talent behind the Audio">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11141/">Audio Charity Auction, organized in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center and killed more than 6000 people.
Charley Hansen 1956–2017
On Wednesday, November 29, I received the following announcement from Ayre's Brent Hefley: "With heavy hearts, we regret to inform you that Charles Hansen, founder of Ayre Acoustics, has passed away on November 28th, 2017. Those who knew Charley knew that he was a passionate man who always stood up for what he believed to be right. His family knew him as a loving and dedicated father of his two children. With the passing of Charley, the world has lost one of the most creative and innovative minds in the audio industry and we have lost a good friend."
Charlie Lourie, Co-Founder of Mosaic Records, Dead at 60
Charlie Lourie, longtime jazz recording industry executive and co-founder of the enthusiast-oriented Mosaic Records, died December 31, 2000 from cardiac arrest, a complication of the rare viral disease scleroderma, from which he had suffered for the last three years. He was 60.
Chesky Covers All the Bases with Planned Music Releases
With new audio formats such as SACD and DVD-Audio hitting the market, audiophiles will soon have more choices than ever for playing back music. But along with all of these options comes the hard part: choosing which path to take and hoping not to be dead-ended, as Beta video owners were years back. For consumers, the promised universal audio players (expected to play DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD, and SACD) will reduce the risk significantly.
Chesky Debuts Multichannel SACDs
The number of two-channel Super Audio Compact Discs seems to grow by the week. There are now several hundred titles to choose from—and hundreds on the way, with the recent endorsement of the format by major record labels. Even so, there are still very few SACDs that exploit the multichannel capabilities of Direct Stream Digital.