<IMG SRC="/images/newsart/he2003.polk.jpg" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=172 HSPACE=6 VSPACE=4 BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT>Polk Audio completely redesigned its popular RT<I>i</I> series of loudspeakers. The RT<I>i</I>s occupy the "better" position in Polk's good (R series), better (RT<I>i</I>), best (LS<I>i</I>) hierachy. The refurbished line features new drivers, higher quality cabinets, and handsome cosmetics—including real wood veneers in black oak and cherry.
The first day of the annual Home Entertainment shows is traditionally devoted to "trade" access only—that is to say, set aside for press conferences and dealer demonstrations (<I>ie</I> officially sanctioned schmoozing and cruising).
<B>Part 1: Wes Phillips on the CD's genesis</B>
<I>People are wrong when they say the opera isn't what it used to be. It is what it used to be. That's what's wrong with it.</I>—Noël Coward
It is with regret that we belatedly note the passing of Joanna Nickrenz, one of the most respected American producers of classical recordings, on February 9. Within the small world of those who passionately care about the sound of recorded music, Ms. Nickrenz, along with her partner Marc J. Aubort, was a legend. Many audiophiles—including <I>Stereophile</I>'s editors—considered the names Nickrenz and Aubort on a project a guarantee of natural, dynamic, accurate sound.
<A HREF="http://www.xmradio.com">XM Radio</A> held a press conference in New York City Thursday, April 18. The event was heralded with great secrecy—attendees were enticed with promises of "major news," but no one leaked details beforehand, and the press arrived expecting something juicy indeed.
Igor Kipnis, virtuosic harpsichordist, prolific critic, and esteemed teacher died January 23. He was 71. According to his managing agency, Marilyn Gilbert Artists Management of Toronto, he had been suffering from cancer.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/cdcantus.jpg" WIDTH=170 HEIGHT=152 HSPACE=6 VSPACE=4 BORDER=0 ALIGN=LEFT><B>Just who were these guys?—<I>Wes Phillips</I></B>
George Harrison, the youngest Beatle, and the least comfortable with the band's renown, died November 29 at 58, following a battle with cancer. Harrison, one of rock's most distinctive guitarists, was also a songwriter and singer of the first water. It could be said that it was his misfortune to be the third songwriter in a band that featured the two most significant tunesmiths of his era. On the other hand, without Harrison's unique, exquisitely tasteful, musically wide-ranging guitar playing—which, in its consistent submission to the requirements of the individual songs, rarely drew attention to itself—Lennon and McCartney might have just been another band.