News

The rumored economic recovery may not be simply spin and hype, if recent reports from the consumer electronics industry are any indication.

From the January 2004 issue, Michael Fremer writes about the "SUV-like, limited-edition, 20th-anniversary" Musical">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/104mf">Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista kWP preamplifier & Tri-Vista kW Monobloc power amplifier. No doubt the "bank-vault-like" designs will get your attention, but as Fremer discovers, after you close your eyes, it's "sheer sonic pleasure."

Denmark's Peak Consult is well known in the European market as a loudspeaker brand, but the company has received scant notice elsewhere. To remedy its low profile Stateside, Peak Consult reports that it has signed with Stereovox to distribute its products in the US.

The name Joe D'Appolito is synonymous with high-performance loudspeakers. Many manufacturers use D'Appolito techniques, but Snell Acoustics has the advantage of employing the famed designer himself as chief engineer. The company will soon begin delivering its Series 7 loudspeakers, which debuted at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

To kick off his three-loudspeaker survey from the January 2004 issue, Art Dudley sets up the Meadowlark">http://www.stereophile.com/loudspeakerreviews/104meadowlark">Meadowlark Audio Swift loudspeaker in his room and notes, "You look at something like the Meadowlark Swift and you think, How can they sell this for only $1195/pair?"

During the recent, successful Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the Consumer">http://www.CE.org">Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) predicted that manufacturer-to-dealer sales of consumer electronics products will total a record $101 billion in 2004—a 5% increase over 2003.

Parasound wins design award: Only a week after receiving a Stereophile 2003 "Product of the Year" award at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for its excellent Halo JC-1 monoblock power amplifier—Richard Schram is shown accepting the award (right)—Parasound Products won a 2003 "Good Design Award" from the Chicago">http://www.chi-athenaeum.org">Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The company's Halo C1 preamp/surround sound processor emerged on top in the museum's annual design competition, "one of the oldest and most important such events in the world," according to a January 16 announcement from Parasound. The C1 and other winners will be on exhibit in the museum from April 3–June 13, 2004. Opening day of the exhibit will be populated with dignitaries, design professionals, and representatives of the press.