Gerhard Feldmann’s Bösendorfer New York is partnering with the Jazz Foundation of America to donate the legendary "Blue Note" Bösendorfer to the JFA's inaugural auction benefit, which will be held November 16 at the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York City. Auction proceeds will support JFA non-profit programs, especially working gigs and educational programs for victims of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
I'd heard rumors about Peak Consult. John Marks was all a-burble, having reviewed the InCognito in "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/932/index2.html">The Fifth Element</A>" in the September 2003 <I>Stereophile</I>, but I'd never actually <I>heard</I> anything designed by PC's Per Kristoffersen. Therefore, when US distributor Chris Sommovigo proposed that I audition the $25,000/pair Empress, I was intrigued. Well, who wouldn't be?
Back in March, I wrote a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/images/newsletter/305stph.html">reviewlet</A…; of Channel Islands Audio's VHP•1 headphone amplifier for the <I>Stereophile</I> eNewsletter. (What—you aren't receiving that free download yet? Well, log on to www.stereophile.com and opt in.) The VHP•1 has continued to enchant me—reason enough to examine it in greater detail, I reckoned. But the real reason I returned to the VHP•1 ($349) is that CIA's Dusty Vawter recently sent me his new VAC•1 ($159), a replacement power supply for the VHP•1's stock wall-wart supply. Could a new power supply <I>really</I> offer a substantial improvement in performance?
Good Guys, the California A/V retailer that overextended itself in an aggressive build-up plan that maxed out at 71 stores, is not long for this world. CompUsa, which acquired the chain in 2003, closed six free-standing Good Guys stores and another five CompUSA/Good Guys megastores in late September. CompUSA will close the remaining 25 stores and three regional distribution centers within 80 days—following <A HREF="http://www.goodguys.com/canv.htm">liquidation sales</A>.
Ray Samuels Audio, long well-regarded for its tube-based home audio components, is developing a reputation for its portable designs, too. After reviewing the <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/headphones/905ray/">SR-71</A>, I figured Samuels couldn't make things any smaller.
Although you're reading this in October, I had to write it in the middle of summer's dog days—what Washington journalists used to call "the silly season," not so much because there's anything inherently funny about August, but because, in pre-AC DC, all the legislators went home then to escape the heat and humidity, leaving the press corps with little to write about other than "man bites dog" stories.
<I>First Annual P2P Litigation Summit:</I>: On November 3, the Northwestern University School of Law will host the one-day First Annual P2P Litigation Summit, sponsored by Privacy Resolutions, P.C. and Electronic Frontier Foundation.
<I>Peter Madnick, alchemist:</I> Designer Peter Madnick is bringing new life to a classic audio marque with his new Alchemy<sup>2</sup> line of components. The reference, for audiophiles with short memories, is to the now defunct Audio Alchemy line, for which he designed so many products. Alchemy<sup>2</sup> employs Madnick's original engineering staff and has established a goal to "address the enthusiast market with cool little boxes designed to solve problems and enhance system enjoyment." That sounds familiar.
Here's one you don't see every day: competing press releases over a store dropping a product line—or vice versa.
Remember that whole "broadcast flag" kerfluffle? Well, it ain't over yet—not if the Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC) and the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) have anything to say about it. If you <I>don't</I> remember the broadcast flag imbroglio, or if you thought it had been vanquished by the DC Circuit Court in May 2005, here's an update.