Stereophile Staff

Last week, <A HREF="http://www.cddb.com">CDDB</A&gt; announced a newly designed, more user-friendly website for its large database of audio CD information. The database resource now provides free information on more than 360,000 CDs, which the company describes as the world's largest online CD music database. There are over 40,000 entries in the classical CD database alone, with rock logging three times as many entries at 126,000. The database gains about 500 new entries every day. Users can search by artist, album, or song title, and then cross-reference titles to other artists or discs.

Reuters has reported that <A HREF="http://www.sony.com">Sony Corporation</A> is experiencing a 20% drop in profits this year, brought about by poor showings from audio and video product sales, slow markets, price wars, and a lack of hit records. The report also stated that the electronics sector, which normally generates the bulk of Sony sales, saw operating profits decline by more than half compared to the previous year.

In the latest article to appear in the Archives, Robert Harley comes right out and asks, "How many of you actually read the 'Measurements' sections of <I>Stereophile</I>'s equipment reports and understand what's being measured, and why? I suspect that many readers skip over the technical assessment of the reviewed product and make a dash for the 'Conclusion.' "

We posted an <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10415/">update</A&gt; on Peter Belt and his activities earlier in the month, but the saga began many moons ago. If you're curious about where it all began, or just need to know more, then J. Gordon Holt's "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/110/">L'Affaire Belt</A>" is for you. Stranger than fiction? Guaranteed.

In an aggressive move into the used audio equipment market, New York retailer <A HREF="http://www.harveyonline.com">Harvey Electronics</A> announced last week that the company will begin to sell used audio products and special purchases of new merchandise on <A HREF="http://www.ebay.com">eBay</A&gt;, an online auction site, beginning June 1, 1999. The company also recently announced that it will sell merchandise through other website partnerships.

A surreal event took place at the 1991 Audio Engineering Society Convention when loudspeaker cables were put on the witness stand. Robert Harley details the amazing event as it unfolded, along with many unexpected twists and turns, in "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//asweseeit/107/">Audio McCarthyism</A>."

Any audiophile who stumbles onto one of the more cantankerous audio newsgroups ("wreck audio opinion," anyone?) may wonder what has happened to the modern breed of audiophiles. One suspects that religious wars pale when compared to how some audio pundits jostle against each other! But over the years, there has <I>always</I> been a wide variety of opinion. For a perspective written decades ago that still holds true today, we present J. Gordon Holt's classic "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com//features/104/">Why Hi-Fi Experts Disagree</A>."