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A Guide to Ambient Music on the Web

Pauline Oliveros calls it "deep listening"—a way to pay attention to the sensual qualities of sound itself. Welcome to a world of music that defies categorization, that invites a listener to soak slowly into a deep and otherworldly zone. This music goes by many names: ambient, spacemusic, electronica, sacred music, tribal/trance. Alas, you'll often find it hiding in the New Age section. Unlike some fluffier New Age fare, good ambient albums can explore the deeper, more solitary spaces. At its best, ambient music can sensitize you to sound in unique ways. It can enlarge your listening space to cavernous dimensions, paint hallucinogenic sonic landscapes, summon primordial forces, or enshroud you in clouds of diffuse vapor.

A Major Shake-Up at Audio Research and Acora Acoustics

David Gordon, Brand Ambassador of Audio Research.

Valerio Cora, who served for four years as executive leader of Minnesota-based Audio Research Corporation, founded Toronto-based loudspeaker company Acora Acoustics in 2018, and was a minority investor in both companies, has been relieved of his responsibilities. David Gordon (seen above), the longtime Brand Ambassador of Audio Research who departed the company on March 23, returned as ARC Brand Ambassador on June 15.

A McIntosh of a Different Color

McIntosh Laboratory announced its $6000 MS750 music server on May 30. The second music server in McIntosh's line, the MS750 incorporates a 750GB hard drive and integrated Web interface capabilities. McIntosh estimates that the MS750 is capable of storing 2700 CDs at full resolution, or about 12,000 songs.

A Must-Have Rachmaninoff CD

It starts quietly enough, with a simple falling-fifth motif, but the first movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff's neglected Piano Sonata 1 develops into a work of epic proportions nearly 40 minutes in length, with haunting melodies, massive dynamic contrasts, and lush, sensual harmonies.

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