<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).
Multichannel music is the future. The two-channel reproduction that we have enjoyed for the past four decades is but the first step from monophonic (single-source) sound to true stereophonic reproduction. I intend to preach that to <I>Stereophile</I> readers who believe it and to convert the obstinate objectors.
I'll spare you my thoughts on the matter—they're guessable anyway—and simply say that the war with Iraq has given me and my family the jitters, just as it seems to have done with millions of other people. But rather than giving 10 more dollars to Henkel Consumer Adhesives, my wife and I have taken a different tack: We made up a Road Box. A Road Box is a cardboard box full of things for us to take from our home if we have to leave in a hurry. We keep it near the door that leads to the garage.
One of the surprisingly effective
Audiogon/Videogon.com—the online resource for buying and selling high-end audio and video equipment—has joined forces with Primedia and the Elf Foundation for a charity auction, which will be held at the <A HREF="http://www.homeentertainment-expo.com">Home Entertainment 2003 Show</A> in San Francisco, June 6–8, 2003.
During this week's <A HREF="http://www.homeentertainment-expo.com/">Home Entertainment Expo</A>, high-tech entertainment fans will get to enjoy some of the best audio and video gear to be found on the planet. A few lucky ones will get to take some of it home—free.
With Apple Computer's iTunes music service not even one month old, the price wars have already begun.
Several writers take turns with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/848/">Apogee Duetta II loudspeaker</A>, beginning with Alvin Gold in 1986. Anthony H. Cordesman exclaims, "The Duetta II breaks so much new ground, and is so obviously a superb speaker system, that it simply would not be fair to you readers to put off reporting on this speaker until the next issue."