David Smith, 1951-2006
I was saddened to hear of the untimely death of David Smith, vice-president of audio engineering and R&D at Sony Music Studios in New York. David, who was 55, died Saturday June 17, at the home of his mother on Long Island.
Day 1 of the 2000 CES
If one were to judge by new high-end audio-product intros at this year's CES, the industry appears to be hopping. So far we're only halfway through the Alexis Park (the home of most high-end audio exhibitors at the Show), but our bags are already overstuffed with brochures. Not surprisingly, a lot of the two-channel manufacturers are branching out to the multichannel market.
Day 2 of the 2000 CES
High-end audio in trouble? That's been the consensus the last few years, but the sheer number of new products at this year's Consumer Electronics Show hints at a steady trend in the opposite direction. New developments in power conditioning abound, and several brave companies are even testing the SACD/DSD and DVD-Audio waters.
Day 3 of the 2000 CES
Digital perfectionists Meridian obviously pulled out all the stops on their new flagship speaker product, the DSP8000. Checking in at $45,000/pair, the eight-driver Digital Active design is expected to hit the market sometime in March. Meridian claims the three-way powered speaker has a 24/96 digital input on the back and processes the digital signal internally with two 100MHz DSP engines operating with 24/192 resolution. Also on display were the new DSP33s, also Digital Active but more modestly priced at $4500/pair.
dbx Founder David Blackmer Dies
We were saddened to learn of the death of inventor and audio engineer David Blackmer. The founder of dbx and Earthworks">http://www.earthwks.com">Earthworks Audio Products, Inc. died at his home in Wilton, NH on March 21. He was 75.
DC-Area Dealer Event Next Saturday
Viva Hifi (Vienna, VA, near Washington, DC), is holding a special Technics Open House Saturday, December 5, from noon7pm. The featured guest will be Gregg Lee, Training Manager for Technics, who will be presenting and discussing Technics' new C700 Premium Series components (above). This series features a D/A integrated amplifier, a network player and CD player, as well as the new, linear-phase, point-sound-source SB-C700 loudspeaker, which is enthusiastically reviewed in the forthcoming January issue of Stereophile.
dCS Purcell Promises Hi-Rez Playback from 16/44 CDs
Ultra-high-resolution audio formats like the Super Audio Compact Disc and DVD-Audio are just around the corner, but music lovers' CD collections will never be obsolete if companies like dCS have anything to do with it. The British electronics company, noted for its high-quality D/A converters, has introduced a 24-bit/192Hz upconverter that is claimed to elevate the performance of ordinary 16/44.1 CD to near DVD-Audio level.
dCS Vivaldi One Apex
The briefest of visits to the dCS room in Munich revealed the Vivaldi One Apex ($95,000). Originally released as the Vivaldi One in 2017 to commemorate the company's 30th Anniversary, the MQA-friendly, single chassis, all-in-one network music player, CD/SACD transport and Master Clock, upsampler and DAC has resurfaced in new Apex form. Only 50 new Vivaldi One Apex units are available. The 250 owners of the original 30th Anniversary model can upgrade to full Apex status ($9000).
dCS, d'Agostino, Clearaudio, and the Wilson XVX at Excel Audio in Newport Beach, California
On November 23, 6–9pm: Excel Audio in Newport Beach, California, invites everyone to join us to experience Wilson Audio’s latest, the Chronosonic XVX, driven by D’Agostino electronics with digital by dCS and vinyl played on the Clearaudio Statement turntable.
De-Crackle, De-Pop, Burn
Bringing old albums out of the vaults and onto the market as CDs is a pretty standard process these days. First you get the licensing straightened out, find the original cover art, and locate the first-generation master tapes. In a pinch, the safety copies of the masters can be used, but if these also can't be located, what next?