New Website!
It's been a while since the Stereophile website was freshened up. Probably too long. So this time we decided to start from scratch and combine the stack of reader suggestions we've received with the thousands of articles and other features already online to create something that we hope scratches your audiophile itch better than ever.
New York Goes Avantgarde
There may be thousands of audio manufacturers around the world, but there are only a handful of ways for them to sell their products. These include your traditional bricks-and-mortar dealer network (everything from small audio boutiques to mass-market chains), the online or mail order retailer, direct sales via the Web or catalog, or direct sales via a company store.
New York Show Starts Friday 4/13
"New York, New York, It's an Audio Town!" After far too many years without a large-scale audio show, New York City is about to get a taste of what regularly enriches the lives of audiophiles in other major centers around the world. The first, hopefully annual New York Audio and AV Show, brought to you by the same Chester Group that mounts audio shows in the UK, Australia, and Sweden, and by T.H.E. Show USA, takes place in Park Avenue's grand Waldorf=Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue on Friday April 13Sunday, April 15.
New York Technics Events Thursday & Saturday
Thursday, March 3, 6:30pm8:30pm, Adirondack Audio & Video (340 East 57th Street, Suite 1D, New York City) and Saturday, March 5, 2pm5pm, Value Electronics (35 Popham Road, Scarsdale) will be hosting the first public demonstrations of Technics' highly-anticipated SL-1200GAE turntable.
New York's Audio Show Opens Friday
Just one week after Capital Audio Fest, the three-day New York Audio Show opens on Friday, November 10, in Manhattan's Park Lane Hotel. With two live references close bythe great outdoors of Central Park is just one block away, and Carnegie Hall is just one block farther in the other directionthe three-day show promises 25 or 26 active listening rooms and up to 100 brands.
Newly Merged AOL Time Warner Will Promote Music
A billion-dollar loss for the parent company may be a big gain for performers under contract to Warner">http://www.wmg.com/">Warner Music Group, who will benefit from cross-promotional efforts aimed at millions of America">http://www.aol.com/">America Online subscribers beginning this month.
News Flash: Oppo now plays DSD files
There has been a lot of buzz lately generated by show demonstrations of DSD recordings played directly from files and as the opportunity to download DSD files is expanding. The reactions of our writers have ranged from "impressive," to an "epiphany," to my own delight reported in the upcoming May issue of Stereophile. The hardware used has been mostly professional (Sonoma workstation) or semi-professional (Mytek Stereo 192-DSD) or, at the very least, costly enough for the unconvinced to hesitate. Now, in one fell swoop, Oppo has made this possible at no cost at all for those of us who own an Oppo BDP-103 or BDP-105.
News from Cirrus Logic
http://www.cirrus.com"> Cirrus Logic has initiated cutbacks in its workforce and other cost-reduction moves that are expected to save as much as $12 million annually. The Austin, TX–based semiconductor company stated May 15 that the measures are part of a general restructuring of its business model, in which its magnetic storage chip business will be de-emphasized in favor of its semiconductor business. Cirrus is the parent company of Crystal Semiconductor, maker of many high-performance digital audio chips.
Next Level HiFi's Aavik, Ansuz, and Børresen System
Now consolidated under the Audio Group Denmark umbrella, Aavik electronics, Ansuz cabling and accessories, and Børresen loudspeakers made an impressive showing in several rooms on the Hilton's 5th floor, sponsored by Next Level HiFi of the greater Chicago region.
The first (for me) of Next Level HiFi's rooms was dominated by Børresen Z1 Cryo monitors ($14,500/pair; above), Aavik's U180 class-D integrated amplifier with DAC ($10,800) and S180 streamer ($7200;), and Ansuz cabling.
Next Level HiFi's Major Step Up: Aavik, Ansuz, Børresen
Jumping to the top level for the models whose entry-level brethren were demmed in Next Level HiFi's other room, the Wayne, IL-based dealer joined forces with Audio Group Denmark to display the Børresen B01 Silver Supreme Edition standmount loudspeaker ($60,500/pair with stands); the Aavik U580 class-D integrated amplifier ($35,000; 300Wpc into 8 ohms), which includes a DAC that does, over USB, PCM up to 32/192 and DSD128 as well as MQA; and the Aavik 5580 Streamer ($25,200). The entire 580 series utilizes external titanium supports for extreme mechanical resonance control and a copper-lined internal chassis for electrical noise control.