Tower Emerging from Chapter 11
Tower">http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records should be back in fighting form on Monday, March 15 when a Delaware bankruptcy court rules on the company's reorganization plans.
Tower Records Liquidated
Even after a two-day auction and federal bankruptcy court approval of a $134.3 million bid by the Great American Group, which has stated that it plans to liquidate the music retailer, it's not precisely clear what is in store for Tower Records.
Tower Records: No Bankruptcy
The fate of Tower">http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records has been the subject of music industry speculation for months. The company's financial difficulties have been no secret; several stories recently appeared alluding to a new Tower">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11041/">Tower policy of making some suppliers share the burden—especially distributors of small specialty classical labels.
Traitors In Our Midst
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. This is especially true for music lovers who have begun to fear that record companies purposely">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11261/">purposely corrupt the data on audio CDs in an effort to restrict their use as a source for copies or MP3 files.
Tributaries Offers Flagship Cables
John Atkinson and I recently spent a few hours talking to cable manufacturer Tributaries'">http://www.tributariescable.com/">Tributaries' president and founder, Joe Perfito. Perfito had come to NYC to meet the press and introduce his company's newest cable families, the high-end Series 7 and the higher-end Series 9. "The Series 9 cables are the best cables we know how to make," Perfito told us. "The interconnects are hand-made of 20AWF solid OFHC signal conductor and a 1.25% silver-plated 46-strand 20AWG OFHC return conductor. We use an LDPE dielectric and an OFHC copper-braided shield and a double-sided copper foil secondary shield for 100% freedom from interference. The conductors are double-soldered to the solid brass connectors, then pressure welded—they will not let go of one another."
Troubling Times for Some Internet Startups
It's been a rough season for some in the e-commerce crowd, as several consumer-electronics Internet startups find themselves amid changes. Last week, CyberShop.comhttp://www.CyberShop.com">CyberShop.com; announced that it will close the e-tailing sites CyberShop.com and electronics.net (created as a joint venture with Tops Appliance City, which is now under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection) and sell these operations' remaining retail assets. At the same time, the company says it will launch an "Internet incubator" through the establishment of Grove">http://www.grovestreetventures.com">Grove Street Ventures to attract and develop startup Internet companies.
Troy Kosovich, Dynaudio's Director of Marketing, dies in a car accident
Troy Kosovich, Dynaudio's director of marketing, died Tuesday, September 14 in a single-car accident near Bozeman, Montana. According to a newspaper report, he apparently lost control of his Isuzu Rodeo while returning to his hotel after an evening with a client. Troy was 37 years old and is survived by his wife, Angel, and his three-year-old son, Killian.
Truth In Labeling
There's no question that restricted-use or copy-protected CDs are finding their way onto retailer shelves and into unsuspecting consumer hands—often with frustrating">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11341/">frustrating results. What is in doubt in many consumers' minds is how to recognize a restricted-use disc before purchase.
Try an Adagio Rather Than a Sonata™
Youth may not be the only thing that's wasted on the young. Many recent studies have shown that as people age, they have increased difficulty getting a good night's sleep. A new study published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing indicates that listening to soft music may help people with sleep disorders to fall asleep faster.
Trying to Bring Order to a Chaotic Optical-Disc World
With the plethora of CD and DVD formats out there, it can be confusing figuring out what will work with what. Standards can help define specifications for a particular format, but often do little to guarantee compatibility between them.