Have you ever knowingly purchased "bootleg" or gray-market recordings?
All right, 'fess up. Have you ever bought pirated music? Sometimes it's the only way to get what you want.
LATEST ADDITIONS
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Sony and Philips Announce Version 1.0 of SACD Specification
Last week, <A HREF="http://www.philips.com">Philips Electronics</A> and <A HREF="http://www.sony.com">Sony Corporation</A> announced the completion of Version 1.0 of the Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) format specification. According to a statement, the format specification will be released to licensees early this month to allow hardware manufacturers and software providers to begin preparing products for launch in the coming months.
VQF Digital Audio Format Enjoying Renewed Interest
Fans of Macintosh computers and Betamax videotape are fond of pointing out that in the free market, the best technologies don't necessarily win. That scenario may be playing out again in the case of <A HREF="http://www.vqf.com/">VQF</A>, a digital audio transfer and storage technology originally developed several years ago by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone.
1960s Pop Diva Dusty Springfield Dies at 59
Singer Dusty Springfield died at her home near Oxford, England last Tuesday, March 2, a few weeks before what would have been her 60th birthday and only one day before she was to have appeared at Buckingham Palace to be honored by Queen Elizabeth. The cause was breast cancer.
Now You See It, Now You Don't
The English flat-panel speaker company <A HREF="http://www.nxt.co.uk/">New Transducers Ltd.</A>, also known as NXT, recently announced a new transparent loudspeaker technology called SoundVu that the company says will enable television and computer screens to function simultaneously as loudspeakers.
Added to the Archives This Week:
Ethics and high-end audio have always been a tangled web---especially when it comes to deciding whether to purchase equipment from a helpful local dealer or trying to find the best price possible. In the web reprint of February 1999's "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//thinkpieces/98/">The Final Word</A>," <I>Stereophile</I>'s publisher emeritus, Larry Archibald, examines a recent high-end purchase of his own to shed a little light on the dilemma faced by the audiophile grinding for a great deal. Also included are some choice reader responses.
Simaudio Moon P-5 preamplifier & W-5 power amplifier
I first saw and heard SimAudio's Moon amp and preamp at WCES two years back, and something about their aesthetics appealed to me: Canadian ruggedness coupled with a decidedly French panache. I remember that those attributes also characterized the demo's sound, although I can't recall the speakers or the sources involved. At succeeding shows, it gradually dawned on me that the Moon components were the fixed elements in a succession of impressive demos.
Corey Greenberg New Editor of Audio
Audio magazine has appeared to have been in difficulties of late, with falling circulation, advertising revenues, and issue size. The current editor-in-chief, Michael Riggs, has worked hard in the past few years to create a more appealing editorial product, since he replaced long-term editor Gene Pitts. However, an even bigger change is now taking place.
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Recording of March 1999: Tracks
<B>BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: <I>Tracks</I></B><BR> Columbia CXK 69475 (4 CDs). 1998. Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Plotkin, prods., engs.; Jon Landau, Stevie Van Zandt, Roy Bittan, Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos, John Hammond, orig. engs.; Ed Thacker, Bob Clearmountain, Thom Panunzio, remix engs. AAD? TT: 4:13:30<BR> Performance <B>*****</B><BR> Sonics <B>****?</B>
How often do you make copies of music?
Protecting copyrighted music has become a major issue in the digital age, but we wonder how it affects audiophiles.