Hifi.com Picks Up Sony for Internet Sales
Among the ingredients needed for a successful online consumer-electronics business, having well-known, sought-after brands may be the most important. Just in time for the holiday season, Hifi.comhttp://www.hifi.com">Hifi.com; announced last week that it has become one of a "select group" authorized to sell Sony Electronics products over the Internet. This announcement comes on the heels of Celestion and Marantz joining the mail-order retailer (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10576/">previous story).
High (End) Wireless Act?
Although it sounds like a disease resulting from poor dental hygiene, Bluetooth is a recently established wireless standard aimed at small-form–factor, low-cost, short-range radio links between mobile PCs, mobile phones, and other electronic devices such as speaker systems. Although there were a few bumps in the road as the standard became established, Cahners In-Stat Group predicts that 1.4 billion Bluetooth-based devices will be shipping annually by 2005.
High End "in a Funk," Claims NY Times
The High End has reached a new low, one characterized by "existential angst." That's how Lawrence M. Fisher of the New">http://www.nytimes.com/">New York Times describes the industry's ongoing malaise. In a well-researched and well-written piece that appeared last Thursday, July 9, Fisher cites "demographic and economic issues beyond its control and technological trends that threaten its very relevance." He mentions the economic crisis in Asia---destination for a large proportion of American high-end audio products---as a major contributing factor to the stagnation in which much of the industry is mired.
High End 2026: Parsing the Big Picture
Now that the High End show has moved from Munich to Vienna, what will audiophiles encounter there this week? One thing they'll encounter is not one but a multiplicity of shows—the big, main show, and at least three much smaller shows.
High End Exceeded $1 Billion in 1997, CEMA Says
One billion dollars in 1997---thatÆs the Consumer">http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association's first-ever estimate of the high-end industry's factory-sales volume. The number could be as high as $1.4 billion, according to a CEMA projection for the entire industry based on sales data of a representative sample of 32 companies. The results of the survey were published March 23 on CEMA's website.
High End Munich Becoming High End Vienna
Starting in May, 2026, High End Munich is morphing into High End Vienna, with the first Vienna High End scheduled for May 28-31, 2026. The surprise move from Munich’s MOC to Vienna’s ACV (Austria Center Vienna) follows what is now understood as a trial run that drew 66 companies and approximately 4000 visitors to Vienna’s ACV in November 18-19, 2023.
High End Munich Canceled for 2021
Due to the ongoing pandemic threat, High End Munich 2021, which had been rescheduled to September 9-12, has been canceled for this year.
High Rez Help
Both SACD and DVD-Audio have been slow finding their way into higher-end players. Sony dominates the market for SACD, and the other major consumer electronics manufacturers are trickling out DVD-A and universal players. The few exceptions include SACD machines from Classéhttp://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/474/">Classé; and Accuphasehttp://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/340/">Accuphase;. Soon to be added to the list: Linn.
High-Brow Streaming
Sam Tellig loves 'em and consistently sings their high-quality/low-buck praises as a cheapskate favorite ($6.99 per CD!). And now, classical music label Naxos">http://www.naxos.com">Naxos of America is blazing new paths with its announcement last week that it and Liquid">http://www.liquidaudio.com">Liquid Audio have inked an agreement to digitally distribute downloads of selected Naxos recordings to leading retail and music web sites in the Liquid Music Network.
High-end Audio Predictions for 1998
Who wouldn't want to know what's in store for the extreme audio devotee? So we rolled a special set of aluminum Tiptoes, read the auspicious signs (you've got to understand how the tips point), and divined our first set of predictions. We'll have more next week, if the Mpingo dots line up just right.