News

One of the most important sopranos of the early music movement—truly one of the great singers of our time—has died. Montserrat Figueras, who together with her husband, viola da gamba master Jordi Savall (left in photo), revivified vast amounts of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque repertoire, succumbed to cancer at age 69.

Diagnosed over a year ago, Figueras continued to record and perform through August. She died at her home in Bellaterra, Spain, with her husband and children Arianna and Ferran at her side.

Thursday&#150Sunday, December 1–4: The second Hi-Fi Expo Sophia will take place at the Grand Hotel Sophia in Sophia, Bulgaria.

On Tuesday, November 22, at 6pm, Stereo Exchange (627 Broadway, Manhattan) will host a demonstration of Wisdom Audio’s Reference LS4 planar magnetic line-source loudspeaker system, STS subwoofers, and SC-1 system controller.

Revised for 2012, the Stereophile Buyer’s Guide is now on newsstands. In its 188 pages, you’ll find the complete specs and prices for over 4500 audio components&#151everything from turntables, tonearms, and cartridges to amplification, digital components, loudspeakers, headphones, and cables. The Guide also includes an index to manufacturers on the Web to help you locate the products you’re most interested in.

Spectral Audio , the northern California company whose director of engineering is Prof. Keith O. Johnson, gave the first public preview of its SDR-4000SL Master CD Processor on September 24, at Music Lovers Audio, in Berkeley. Introduced by Johnson and Spectral founder Richard (Rick) Fryer, the $19,000 Spectral Digital Resolution (SDR) model sounded sensational playing 16-bit/44.1kHz, HDCD-encoded files Johnson had made for Reference Recordings, through a system that included Spectral's DMC-30SS preamplifier and monoblock amplifiers, Wilson Audio MAXX 3 speakers, Spectral Ultralink II speaker cables, the MIT Z Duplex conditioner, Synergistic Research's controversial ART system, and other room treatments.

AudioStream.com is a new website edited by Michael Lavorgna dedicated to making sense of the evolving world of computer audio and getting the best sound from your computer-based audio system.

The site's motto is "Computer Audio For Everyone" and will focus on the world of computer audio hardware, software and music resources. Topics will include hardware reviews from the mass-market right up to the bleeding-edge of what’s possible as well as in-depth analysis of music management software and an exploration of our newest music resources including HD download sites, streaming media and cloud services.

The 2011 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, which runs October 14–16 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, promises more exhibits than ever before. With 480 exhibitors spread over 176 hotel rooms and three vendor areas, and advance attendance figures indicating at least 3500 attendees, the show continues to attract even more of the industry and public despite the economic slowdown. While the proportion of East and West Coast attendees remains stable, you'll see more international attendees, including folks from Thailand, India, Japan, Australia, Argentina, Singapore, Brazil, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Mexico, and the UK.

"The big news is that we've scheduled a special exhibit at the Hyatt down the block," show organizer Marjorie Baumert told Stereophile. "We've expanded because Chad Kassem of Acoustic Sounds and Analogue Productions has put together a preview presentation of the new 5.1 surround sound SACD of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, running all three days, and played through the same Acoustic Transducer Company (ATC) loudspeakers that were used to mix the project.