News

There have been even further developments on the Sony BMG root kit debacle since the last time we updated">http://stereophile.com/news/112105sonys/">updated you. The reports that Sony artists were unhappy that the company had been caught compromising consumers' computers were confirmed by Newsweekhttp://businessweek.com/technology/content/nov2005/tc20051122_343542.ht…;. That magazine reported that Trey Anastasio's Shine, which was released on November 1, the day after the story broke, sold 15,000 copies in its first week, but plummeted to 7,000 by week two, when the story was all over the press. Since then, all 52 albums with the XCD "protection" have been pulled. Patrick Jordon, director of marketing at Red Light Management, which reps Anastasio, said, "It's been damaging, and certainly we're going to discuss that with the label."

Manley Laboratories, Inc. has appointed Albert Schippits as its hi-fi division's national sales manager. While Manley Labs has maintained a presence in the consumer high-end market since its 1988 launch, the company's energies have often seemed more focused on its successful line of professional studio equipment, such as its tube preamps, compressor/limiters, and equalizers.

At stereophile.com, John Atkinson, Jon Iverson, and I troll the Internet constantly looking for audio-related news, so on November 21,when I spotted an article by John">http://news.com.com/iTunes+outsells+traditional+music+stores/2100-1027_… Borland about iTunes outselling traditional retail record outlets like Tower and Borders, I passed it on to the other two without even thinking about it.

On November 7, four months after a Supreme Court decision determined that file-sharing services could be held liable for the actions of their users, Grokster agreed to stop distributing its software and to pay $50 million in damages.

On November 12, the audio forum Head-Fihttp://www4.head-fi.org/forums/index.php?">Head-Fi; staged a meet at the Adria Ramada Inn and Conference Center in Bayside, NY. You may be asking yourself, What's a Head-Fi meet? That's a complicated question, but the simplest answer is that it's an attempt to provide a real-world equivalent to the sense of community that Head-Fi's forum has engendered on the Internet. It's also a chance for like-minded enthusiasts to share their favorite equipment and software with one another. In a hotel conference room, some 30–40 headphone lovers set up their systems (frequently incorporating more than one headphone amp and multiple sets of headphones) and then everybody started listening, taking turns around the room, and discussing what they'd heard.

As audiophiles, we all started somewhere, and the important fact is, we all started with a love of music. When it came to music playback equipment, more than a few of us remember the fold-up record player stacked with 45s, or the little transistor radio tucked under our pillow at night with a low-fi, one-channel earpiece attached.

The holiday season is upon us, and if you have someone on your gift list—especially a youngster, but really, anyone—whom you'd like to introduce to the wonders of world music, I've got just the ticket. And even if not, read on, because this story will do you good.