Bothered by bounce? Jonathan Scull offers some solutions for turntable owners with problem floors in "Fine Tunes" No.20. He also describes how impoverished audiophiles can make their own low-cost anti-vibration shelves. Stereophile readers respond with their own experiences—and a warning.
Jonathan Scull thinks he has uncoverd the hot audiophile topic for the new millennium—e-commerce. He lays out the situation in "Fine Tunes" #19. Find out what various manufacturers are up to, and why.
Progress toward a working digital radio technology took a big step forward in April with the addition of Lowpass Prototype Inc. to the development team. According to an April 27 press release, USA Digital Radio, Inc., a privately held digital radio technology company owned by the nation's largest radio broadcasters, has added the manufacturer of radio-frequency systems for radio and television transmission to its coalition to develop and commercialize digital AM and FM radio.
Can Jah Atkinson believe his ears? The PS Audio Power Plant P300 touched an audio nerve with JA, who interviewed the designer, Paul McGowan: High-End Survivor, for the May 2000 Stereophile. As a bonus, we include JA's follow-up to Robert Deutsch's review of the P300, also from the May issue.
After the bungled launch last year of DVD-Audio, where is a digital audiophile to turn? John Atklinson provides some answers in "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution," from the April 2000 Stereophile. "So while the DVD Forum argues about increasingly arcane aspects of the DVD-Audio medium, and John Lennon's record-industry 'men in suits' retreat further into their lawyer-built fortresses, I have bypassed all they have to offer . . . "
Jonathan Scull has seen the future of audiophile proselytizing and aches to spread the word. In "Fine Tunes" #18, J-10 shares the new tweak-audio mantra, and more.
In an "increasingly complicated and competitive media environment," public broadcasting intends to be there. So declared the Corporation for Public Broadcasting on March 30, when it announced an almost $2 million investment in projects for National Public Radio and Public Interactive. CPB has long held the intellectual high ground in broadcasting, and its new investments are intended to continue that tradition. The goal of the program is to create "new content and services which will broaden the public square of ideas and civic discourse," according to a corporate press release.
Last week, JBL Consumer Products (a unit of the Harman Consumer Systems Group) and Korea's L.G. Electronics (manufacturers of Gold Star and L.G. Electronics brand products) announced that they have entered into a strategic alliance to jointly develop and market a "broad range of new consumer electronics products." The companies say that the partnership "builds upon the respective strengths of both manufacturers" and will enable both companies to expand their offerings into areas outside their traditional product categories.
For "Fine Tunes" #17, Jonathan Scull presents readers with the ultimate bachelor-pad mod for speaker stands: shiny black trash bags. More important, Scull investigates why we even try these things in the first place.
For "Fine Tunes" #16, Jonathan Scull offers sage advice on handling the often ephemeral problem of microphonics in audio systems. "So here I am expounding on the tendency of audio components—especially tubes, capacitors, and resistors—to become microphonic, and you're wondering how you can find out if there's any of that shakin' goin' on in your system. And you want to do it easily and for next to nothing," he sez. The solutions await.