Music Notes
On April 9, the European Commission announced that it was suspending its antitrust investigation into the proposed merger between the music divisions of Sony Corporation and German media conglomerate Bertelsmann AG.
News
Master Article Index Added
Long-time readers of Stereophile, with stacks of magazines stuffed in their closets, will be glad to hear that we are launching a Master">http://www.stereophile.com/images/masterindex/index.html">Master Index of past articles and publishing it free of charge online.
Added to the Archives This Week
From the January 1996 issue, Jonathan Scull listens closely to the Wavelength">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/196wavelength">Waveleng… Audio Cardinal XS monoblock amplifier. Single-ended tube designs such as the Wavelength can inspire controversy within audiophile ranks, so Scull carefully sorts the plusses and minuses.
Canadian Judge: Downloads OK
Canadian music fans are breathing a collective sigh of relief in the wake of a ruling by a federal justice that sharing music over the Internet doesn't violate the nation's copyright laws.
TAG McLaren Sold
Rumors have been circulating for some weeks now that the Chinese-owned, UK-based International Audio Group (IAG), which owns and operates the Quad and Wharfedale brands, was in talks with TAG McLaren, with the intention of taking over the latter's Audio division.
Connected Guide to the Digital Home Launched
Primedia, the leading targeted media company, announced March 30 the newsstand arrival of its recently launched Connected">http://www.connectedguide.com">Connected Guide To The Digital Home. Part of Primedia's Home Technology & Photography (HT&P) Group, Connected is the first consumer magazine dedicated entirely to adopting and integrating audio, video, information, telecommunications, security and other personal and home technologies.
darTZeel Gets US Distribution
The darTZeel NHB-108 power amplifier garnered effusive praise from Stereophile's John Marks in his September">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/932/index.html">Septemb… 2003 Fifth Element column, including the comment "the sweetest-sounding solid-state power amplifier I have ever heard." There was only one problem: the amp was hard to find in the US.
Added to the Archives This Week
From the March 2004 issue, Kalman Rubinson files his report on the Adcom">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/304adcom">Adcom GFA-7805 five-channel power amplifier. KR notes, "It was easy for me to decide on their top-of-the-line five-channel powerhouse, the GFA-7805, because it embodies the same spirit that the GFA-555 did in its time: lots of power, no frills, good value."
Music Industry Roundup
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is continuing its legal campaign against file sharing. In late March, the trade organization launched a new salvo of lawsuits against 532 individuals and 21 university computer networks across the country—89 of the accused violators used school networks for downloading or sharing large numbers of copyrighted recordings. The RIAA claimed that the alleged violators shared an average of 837 songs.
Jan Berry 1942-2004
Jan Berry, of '60s surf music duo Jan and Dean, died Friday, March 26 at UCLA Medical Center, after suffering a seizure at his home in Brentwood. He was 62.