American Technology Corporation Announces New Patents
Last week, American">http://www.atcsd.com">American Technology Corp. (ATC) announced that three additional patents on its loudspeaker technologies have been granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10616/">previous story). The company also announced that it has acquired the rights to "strategic" patents from the former Carver Corp. covering a variety of audio reproduction and amplifier technologies.
Ames to Take Helm at Warner Music
Former PolyGram Music Group president Roger Ames has been named to head the Warner">http://www.pathfinder.com/corp/wbmusic/index.html">Warner Music Group, parent company Time">http://www.pathfinder.com/corp/tw">Time Warner announced August 16. Warner's music division, formerly the top domestic money-earner, has been stagnant in the past few years. Still one of the top five music conglomerates, it now trails Seagram's Universal Music, Bertelsmann AG, and Sony Music in total business, but retains the #2 spot in total number of albums sold, according to the Wall">http://www.wsj.com/">Wall Street Journal. Warner's foreign business is far weaker.
AMG: Full of Surprises
It's funny how things sometimes have to hit you in the head before you actually notice them. When Jon Iverson and I were cruising CES 2007 in January, we were stopped in our tracks by Sooloos's">http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2007/107soolooscdslot/">Sooloos's media server technology. Sooloos got the whole no-compromise audiophile approach, but what really knocked us out was how thoroughly it utilized the metadata from AMG (All Media Guide): Feed the the Sooloos server a disc and it would access AMG's database and collect artist name, album title, track names, cover art, genre, mood, side-man information, and even "associated concepts."
Amnesty Offer from RIAA?
The Recording">http://www.riaa.com">Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) may issue a general amnesty to the music fans who have amassed libraries of favorite tunes by downloading them over the Internet, according to information leaked to Billboard, the Hollywood Reporter, and other publications the first week of September.
Ampsandsound at AXPONA 2026
At AXPONA 2026, Ken Micallef speaks with Amspandsound founder Justin Weber about the gear shown in the company's room, including the Ampsandsound Badlands preamplifier, Ampsandsound Stereo 17 – Little Nugget amplifier, and Ampsandsound Seneca 2-way speakers.
An Afternoon With Audio Research and McIntosh in Maryland, Next Saturday
Bethesda, MD retailer JS Audio (4919 St. Elmo Avenue) is having an open house Saturday November 22, 12pm4pm to debut the new Audio Research Galileo Series amplifier and preamplifier with the Wilson Audio Alexandria XLF loudspeakers!
An Audio Archivist's Dream
Music fans who use their computers to organize their CD or MP3 music libraries have found the CDDB music database, now owned and operated by Gracenotehttp://www.gracenote.com">Gracenote; (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11046/">previous story), to be an essential part of their audio world. If you use CDDB-enabled hardware or software, the artist, album title, genre, and track titles will automatically display when you put a CD or load an MP3 file into your computer or compliant player.
An Audio Conspiracy?
For any good battle, it helps to have several key ingredients. First, there has to be an underlying conflict that cannot be settled with diplomatic ease---it is especially important that both combatants covet the same property. Second, each side has to set a propaganda machine in motion to create the appearance of a noble struggle for the good of "the people" that transcends the simple fight for turf control. Third, the outcome of such a battle should have implications stretching far into the future. And finally, these days it helps if the press notices.
An Audio Dispatch from Saratov, Russia
Editor's Note: I received an e-mail from Leonid asking for advice on audio cables a few weeks back, and we quickly began discussing the local audio scene in his hometown in Russia. I asked him to describe it for me; what follows is his report.---JI
An Audio Waterworld
The quest to secretly track music fans continues: Royal">http://www.philips.com">Royal Philips Electronics and Digimarchttp://www.digimarc.com">Digimarc; announced last week that they have signed a new agreement that extends the licensing of Digimarc's digital watermarking patents to include audio applications as well as a broader range of video applications.