Entercom Moving onto Radio's Center Stage
A company unknown outside the broadcast industry is poised to become the next big player in radio. Entercom">http://www.entercom.com/">Entercom Communications Corp, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, has moved to the head of the pack in the race to buy 31 FM and 15 AM stations from Sinclair Broadcasting Corporation. The $824.5 million purchase is being financed in part by a public stock offering that Entercom floated last January.
Enzo Natali R.I.P.
Just a brief comment to note the passing on Saturday August 11 of Italian audio distributor Enzo Natali, pictured at the 2012 CES second from left above with UK distributor Ricardo Franassovici (left) and Enzo's two sons Luca and Marco (right and far right). (My thanks to Ricardo for allowing me to publish both this picture and the one below.)
ERA to Music Industry: DRM Must Die
According to an article posted by The Financial Times November 20, Kim Bailey, the director general of the UK trade group Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) is urging the music industry to drop digital rights management (DRM), saying that incompatible proprietary technologies, rather than preventing unlicensed copying, discourage sales of electronic files, "stifling growth and working against the consumer interest."
Ernie Fisher, Founder of The Inner Ear Magazine, has Passed Away
Ernie Fisher, founder and longtime editor of Canada's The Inner Ear Magazine, passed away.
Escalation in P2P War
The entertainment industry is going the last mile in its war against file sharing. On Friday, October 8, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAAhttp://www.mpaa.org">MPAA;), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAAhttp://www.riaa.com">RIAA;), and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPAhttp://www.nmpa.org">NMPA;) appealed to the US Supreme Court to overturn a lower court's ruling earlier this year that peer-to-peer (P2P) file-trading networks can't be held liable for copyright infringement.
Esoteric at AXPONA 2026
At AXPONA 2026, Ken Micallef speaks with Esoteric's Hiroyuki "Hiro" Machida about the gear shown in one of the company's rooms at the show, including an Esoteric K-05XD SACD player, Esoteric N-05XE network DAC/preamplifier, and Esoteric S-05XE amplifier.
Esoteric Audio's Grand Opening in Arizona, Saturday
High-end retailer Esoteric Audio (111 West Monroe Street, Suite 100, Phoenix) has been a fixture on the Arizona audiophile scene for more than 30 years, since it was founded in 1982 by Gary and Pam Hjerpe. Gary and Pam have handed over the reins of Esoteric to a new owner, Andrew Papanikolas, who is holding a Grand Opening Event on Saturday, February 27, from
17pm. "Experience hors d'oeuvres, international wine and craft beer tastings, and a return to music the way it was meant to be enjoyed: in the company of friends," says Andrew.
Esoteric's New Grandioso T1, M1X, S-05
In celebration of Esoteric’s 35th anniversary, the company’s Shota Terai offered a sneak preview of the Grandioso T1, the first turntable in Esoteric's long history. Due to be finalized soon, the T1 employs the company's "patent-registered unique contact-free Esoteric MagneDrive System that inductively synchronizes the rotations of a magnetic driver and platter, realizing a quiet and silky-smooth rotation at an extraordinarily accurate rotation speed."
ESP Loudspeakers Returns
Back in the 1990s, I lusted mightily for the large ESP speakers with their tall, slim shapes and their angled driver panels. A large-room demo of the Concert Grands with Sonic Frontiers electronics still reverberates in my memory. Unfortunately, just as I evolved to the point where I could consider buying a pair of Concert Grands, the company folded its tents. Recently, I heard a rumor that ESP might be returning, and an email exchange with founder and designer Sean McCaughan has confirmed the good news.
Essentia Technology & Michell at Montreal Audiofest 2026
In our latest video interview from Montreal Audiofest 2026, Ken Micallef speaks with Essentia Technology co-founder Leoni Alexander-Tomas, and later with Jonathan Nye and John Rowland of Michell, about the British company's gear they were repping at the show, including the Michell Revolv turntable, Michell Gyro turntable, and Michell TecnoDec turntable.