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Heaven In Your Head

April 24: On Saturday, April 22, the audio forum Head-Fihttp://www4.head-fi.org/forums/index.php?">Head-Fi; staged its first national meet at the Adria Ramada Inn and Conference Center in Bayside, NY. The meet, organized by Aaron Kovics (Head-Fi tag: immtbiker), occupied over 3300 square feet of floor space, most of which was divided into manufacturers' display tables and forum members' demonstration areas. Yep, you read that right—unlike ordinary hi-fi shows, the Head-Fi meets are opportunities for the attendees to show off their systems, sample and compare professionally manufactured components, and demonstrate their DIY projects. In fact, one of the biggest surprises I experienced when I attended a regional meet at the same venue last Novemberhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/111405headfi/">November; was that some of the DIY projects not only sounded as good as the commercially available gear, they were built to standards of fit'n'finish that rival "real" products as well.


Industry Update

Meet the new boss: Tannoy has announced the promotion of sales and marketing director Andrzej Sosna to managing director of the Scotland-based loudspeaker manufacturer. The company's former managing director, Anders Fauerskov, will now assume the title of CEO of Tannoy's parent, TC Group, which bought the TGI group of companies, including Tannoy, in 2002. Sosna, in his role of product development director, has been called "the driving force behind Tannoy’s recent product successes."


Looking For the Soul of Music

Two scientists from McGill University—Daniel Levitin, a cognitive neuroscientist, and Stephen McAdams, a cognitive psychologist—and a professor from the College of New Jersey joined forces with the conductor and five members from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, not to mention 50 audience members, this past weekend to attempt to measure how people process music.


iPods & Hearing Loss

Apple Computer, faced with research, complaints, and litigation claiming that the iPodhttp://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/934">iPod; can cause hearing loss, issued a new software update on March 29 that limits the personal maximum volume level of the iPod Nano and iPod models with video-playback capabilities. The free download, available at www.apple.com/ipod/downloadhttp://www.apple.com/ipod/download">www.apple.com/ipod/download;, prevents the player from outputting its potentially damaging maximum volume of 115dB. Parents can also use the feature to set volume limits on their child's iPod, and lock settings with coded combinations.


RoHS Chills Electronics Companies

Removal of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), a directive">http://www.stereophile.com/images/newsletter/805Bstph.html">directive by the European Union (EU) that goes into effect on July 1, 2006, sounds like apple pie or motherhood—something that would be hard to argue against. And its expressed purpose of removing hazardous substances—lead and mercury, for example—from consumer products is assuredly a noble one.


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