News

It is with great sadness that I report that Howard Mandel, the main man of manufacturer Altis Audio, passed away on September 27 after a long battle with, I believe, leukemia. No age was given in his obituary in the Danbury News Times (CT), but I believe Howard was in his early 50s.

A comprehensive set of reviews awaits those interested in learning everything there is to know about the legendary Quad">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/416/">Quad ESL-63 loudspeaker. Writers checking in with analysis, background, and opinion include J. Gordon Holt, Anthony H. Cordesman, Sam Tellig, Martin Colloms, Larry Greenhill, and John Atkinson.

The official launch of XM">www.xmradio.com">XM Satellite Radio was set for September 12. But within hours of the September 11 attack on New York and the Pentagon, XM announced that it would be postponing its debut, which was slated to take place in Washington DC at its headquarters and broadcast studio complex.

Bringing old albums out of the vaults and onto the market as CDs is a pretty standard process these days. First you get the licensing straightened out, find the original cover art, and locate the first-generation master tapes. In a pinch, the safety copies of the masters can be used, but if these also can't be located, what next?

Record producer and Stereophile contributor mailto:jmrcds@jmrcds.com"> John Marks has informed us that classical violinist Arturo Delmoni has agreed to throw his considerable talent behind the Audio">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11141/">Audio Charity Auction, organized in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center and killed more than 6000 people.

There is an overwhelming amount of pop music available on the Internet, but where does the serious music fan go in search of jazz, classical, or opera?

As a result of the terrorist attacks last week, the Audio Engineering Society (AES) has decided to postpone its AES 111th Convention until November 30. The annual audio event, which was to have been held this week in Manhattan at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, will now be held Friday, November 30–Monday, December 3, 2001. The AES says that the convention will use the same exhibit, demo, and conference space as would have been used next week.