Audio Cables Without the Wires
There are a myriad surefire ways to get audiophiles riled. Just bring up $350,000 tube amps, iPods as serious audio devices, or SACD versus DVD-Audio versus DualDisc versus iTunes.
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NHT's "Room 2 Room" Series
"Whole-house entertainment systems" and "ease of use" may be anathema for many audiophiles, but they bring joy to the lives of many music lovers—as they seem to do for manufacturers with a keen eye on the bottom line.
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From the September 1992 issue, Corey Greenberg checks in with a review of the Dynaco">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/992dynaco">Dynaco Stereo 70 II power amplifier. According to CG, "Panor's Stereo 70 II reissue looks similar to a vintage Dyna, but contains several circuit additions claimed to improve the original design's performance."
Meridian 808 Disc Player
Twenty years ago, the introduction of the compact disc put the music world on a new path. Not long after its debut, Meridian">http://www.meridian-audio.com">Meridian Audio Ltd. launched the world's first audiophile CD player, the MCD. That player and others that followed drew audiophiles into the digital age.
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In a landmark special feature, Chris Dunn & Malcolm Omar Hawksford thoroughly dissect the vicissitudes of the digital interface and jitter in Bits">http://www.stereophile.com/features/396bits">Bits is Bits? The authors note, "The theoretical performance obtainable from the 16-bit linear PCM format sampled at 44.1kHz is superior to any analog sources available to the consumer."
More Lawsuits vs. Music Fans
The music industry may be going the way of the dinosaur, but if so, it's going to go down with its army of lawyers fighting all the way to the bitter end.
Downloads Evolve on Campus
One of the most fascinating aspects of the digital age is that clever students—or sometimes, clever dropouts—can undo the work of teams of PhD engineers.
DualDisc Arrives in October
Market tests have been conducted, rumors floated, and now official word has arrived that DualDisc, a new two-sided disc format combining a CD on one side with a DVD on the other, will launch this October.
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In his report on the MartinLogan">http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/804ml">MartinLogan Depth powered subwoofer, Larry Greenhill laments, "Reviewing subwoofers is a lonely job that brings no respect." But can the Depth upset one of LG's longstanding prejudices to earn his respect?
XM Radio & Audiophiles?
On August 18, XM Radio invited the press to Manhattan's Rainbow Room to announce its latest product offerings. The locale was not unintentional, according to Chance Patterson, XM's vice president for programming operations, "This building [30 Rockefeller Plaza, headquarters of NBC] was at the center of radio's first flowering, and XM represents radio's future."