After a difficult gestation, DVD-Audio may finally be moving toward becoming a market reality now that a major record label has stepped forward to support it. <A HREF="http://www.wmg.com/">Warner Music Group</A> (WMG) has issued several recordings in the new format, covering a range of genres. DVD-A is "the most significant industry format launch since the introduction of the CD nearly 20 years ago," according to an October 2 WMG press release.
Slap echo got you in a flutter? Jonathan Scull writes, in <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//finetunes/275/">"Fine Tunes" #27</A>, that "last month I delved into avoiding reflective, parallel-wall slap echoes from ruining your audiophile day. But I've since learned of a perfectly useful workaround that's much less costly and involved than horsing around the Sheetrock." George Cardas lends a hand.
In an unusual move, chipmaker <A HREF="http://www.cirruslogic.com/">Cirrus Logic</A> has purchased patents for Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) technology owned by <A HREF="http://www2.bwspeakers.com/">B&W Loudspeakers</A>, a leading UK manufacturer. The patents will be used in combination with current Cirrus Logic technology in a new line of digital amplifiers, according to an October 2 news release.
Citing the potential danger of "collective dominance" of the music business, European Commission members have nixed the proposed merger of American media conglomerate Time Warner and British music-industry powerhouse EMI. The $20 billion joint venture may still have some small chance at a future, provided the companies make further concessions to allay fears of monopolistic control of music prices in Europe.
Every once in a while, John Atkinson comes across a speaker that redefines the boundaries of what is possible with the moving-coil loudspeaker approach established 60 years ago by Rice and Kellogg. JA feels that the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/272/">B&W John Bowers Silver Signature loudspeaker</A> is just such a product, and puts it through its paces to reveal its significant virtues and minor faults.
Software giant <A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com/">Microsoft Corporation</A> has acquired <A HREF="http://www.hdcd.com/">Pacific Microsonics, Inc.</A> (PMI), developer of High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) technology. The deal was announced in a joint press release issued September 18. Financial details were not disclosed.
Choice is good, or so would go the common wisdom. But as John Atkinson points out in "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/270/">The Crazy You Get from So Much Choice</A>," when applied to diapers and DVD-Audio, choice can quickly develop into a nightmare in which comsumers simply walk away from the shelves, unable to make a decision. Will DVD-Audio suffer such a fate?
One of the industry's most ambitious digital distribution programs has been announced by <A HREF="http://www.timewarner.com/corp/about/music/wmg/index.html">Warner Music Group</A>. In November, WMG will make more than 1000 albums and singles available as downloads through several online music retailers, using <A HREF="http://www.realnetworks.com/">RealNetworks</A>' RealPlayer software. Music fans in the US and Canada are the target audience for the download program, according to a September 11 press release.
Last week, the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA) released numbers indicating that factory audio sales (as opposed to sales through to consumers) for the first six months of 2000 have surpassed all previous mid-year dollar sales. The CEA adds that the $3.85 billion in sales to dealers put audio sales 12% ahead of the same time last year.
Michael Fremer writes, "I've never heard a pair of the Italian Sonus Faber speakers I didn't like. What I've never liked was the US price: too high. And then you have to put them on costly stands." In his review of the floorstanding <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/269/">Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano loudspeaker</A>, Fremer grapples with the price/performance ratio of this $3500/pair speaker and answers the important audiophile question: Enough magic for the money?