Stereophile Staff

Back in January of this year, we <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10073/">reported</A&gt; that loudspeaker manufacturer <A HREF="http://www.polkaudio.com">Polk Audio</A> had purchased an interest in <A HREF="http://www.gen-tech.com">Genesis Technologies</A>, a loudspeaker and digital electronics manufacturer, with an option to buy the company in three years. Last week, however, Polk announced that it has decided to pass the company on to new investors.

Is stadium rock pass&#233;? The Rolling Stones, the world's greatest practitioners of large-venue concerts, have announced a tour of smaller arenas beginning January 25. The "No Security" tour---in support of the recently released Virgin Records album of the same name---will take the band through 25 North American cities.

Long the bane of finicky audiophiles, <I>Consumer Reports</I> magazine has been measuring just about anything sold in a store since 1936 in an effort to "test products, inform the public, and protect consumers." But when they get around to testing audio gear, the magazine's "lab" has become the target of many audio enthusiasts who don't share <I>CR</I>'s views on how to tell good sound from bad. In fact, part of the problem is that <I>CR</I> often reports that sound quality is not always the final factor in rating a product, with concerns about reliablity, ease of use, and fit and finish often skewing results.

Hot on the heels of a favorable RIAA/Rio decision (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10299/">related story</A>), five of the pioneers in the rapidly expanding market for downloadable music---<A HREF="http://www.goodnoise.com">GoodNoise Corp.</A>, <A HREF="http://www.mp3.com">MP3.com</A&gt;, <A HREF="http://www.musicmatch.com">MusicMatch</A&gt;, <A HREF="http://www.xingtech.com">Xing Technology Corp.</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.diamondmm.com">Diamond Multimedia</A> Systems, Inc.---announced the formation of the MP3 Association, an industry trade group focused on the "continued evolution and adoption of the MP3 (MPEG 1 or 2, Layer 3) standard." The Association will focus on three primary goals: promoting MP3 technology as the next-generation digital music format, educating consumers about MP3 and its legal use, and opening new creative avenues for musicians and developers.

Petersen's HI-FI Show management announced October 22 that <A HREF="http://www.avacademy.com/">The Academy Advancing High Performance Audio and Video</A> will be sponsoring Trade Days at <A HREF="http://www.hifishow.com">HI-FI '99</A>, The Home Theater and Specialty Audio Show, taking place at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago from May 11 to May 13, 1999. This marks the fourth consecutive year that The Academy has sponsored Trade Days at the HI-FI Shows. Show management and The Academy also announced today that the Music and Film Seminar Series will be expanded in 1999 to a two-track educational program. Each track will consist of the five disciplines showcased at the Seminar Series in 1998: Sales Techniques, Digital Technologies, Room Acoustics, Video Technologies, and Multi-room Design and Installation.

Last Friday, October 23, Garden City, NY---based CDKnet announced that Atlantic Recording Corporation had signed a licensing agreement to use the company&rsquo;s CDT technology for enhancing the content of its music CDs. CDKnet&rsquo;s audio and video streaming technology embeds links on music CDs to sites on the World Wide Web, such as Atlantic&rsquo;s own <A HREF="http://www.metrotainment.com/">Metrotainment</A&gt; site. The first musical release under this agreement will be "A Random Act of Senseless Kindness," a single by South SixtyFive, a new group on the Atlantic label.

The development of digital AM-radio technology moved a step closer last month when the <A HREF="http://www.iis.fhg.de/index.html">Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen)</A> (IIS) signed a consortium agreement for the development of digital AM radio with several international radio broadcasters, network operators, and manufacturers.