High-End Audio Writer Anthony H. Cordesman Passes
Anthony H. (Tony) Cordesman, who wrote high-end equipment reviews for Audio, Stereophile, and The Absolute Sound (TAS), died suddenly last week.
High-end audio-industry veterans have new jobs
As of October, Meridian America's new VP/Sales, replacing the late Ross Keim, was industry veteran Andy Regan, who started his high-end career at Manhattan retailer Sound by Singer. Most recently, Regan was VP/Sales at cable manufacturer AudioQuest. Not uncoincidentally, Joe Abrams has moved from cable manufacturer MIT to AudioQuest.
High-End Clicks & Mortar?
Selling consumer-electronics gear over the Web has begun to glow white-hot in the last year, with dozens of companies turning up the competitive burners (see related">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10514/">related story). It will likely be a tough business, with the inevitable shake-outs and mergers taking place as retailers test their strategies and brands on the public's pocketbooks.
High-End Faces
Medford, Long Island–based manufacturer Shahinian Acoustics has announced a recapitalization and a manufacturing-facilities expansion to meet demand for its quasi-omnidirectional loudspeakers. In a related development, Vasken Shahinian has succeeded his father as president and managing director.
High-End Munich Canceled
(February 28) High End 2020, aka Munich High End, has been canceled “due to the current worsening trend with respect to the spread of the novel coronavirus.”
High-Resolution Digital Gets Cheaper
On June 23, Burr-Brown">http://www.burr-brown.com/">Burr-Brown Corp. announced the PCM1728 digital-to-analog converter (DAC), designed for consumer and professional audio applications.
High-Rez PC On the Way?
HTPCs are hot among home theater cognoscenti. Using a personal computer to anchor an audio/video system has boomed in recent years due to the availability of high quality video processing software, Dolby Digital and DTS decoding support, and DVD transports. HTPCs (home">http://www.guidetohometheater.com/news/11166/">home theater personal computers) also thrive in part because of the tinkering gene shared by many enthusiasts.
High-Rez Releases
Recent news from Universal Music Group should bode well for the SACD format. It's not exactly a flood, but the world's largest music company finally made good on the promisehttp://www.stereophile.com/news/11238/">promise; it made at the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and announced last week its first Super Audio CD (SACD) titles to be released in the United States.
Higher Performance from TI, Intel
In mid-April, Texas Instruments and Intel announced developments likely to improve the experience for many music fans in the near future. TI announced the industry's highest performance four-channel audio digital–analog converter (DAC), and Intel released the final v1.0 specification for "Intel High Definition Audio."
Hiroyasu Kondo: RIP
We were sorry to learn that Hiroyasu Kondo died January 8, while attending CES in Las Vegas.