IAG Acquires Mission
In a brief statement, The">http://www.internationalaudiogroup.com/">The International Audio Group (IAG) announced on June 28 that it has purchased the Missionhttp://www.mission.co.uk/">Mission; business from the Administrators of Symphonix. In a separate transaction, IAG reports that it has also purchased the Mission brandname from NXT.
IBM and Liquid Audio Cross-Fertilize
The struggle for position in the Internet-based audio downloading market continues unabated. On the format front, Sony has recently">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10716/">recently announced several deals to bring its ATRAC compressed-audio format to the Web, while IBMhttp://www.ibm.com">IBM; and Liquid">http://www.liquidaudio.com">Liquid Audio announced last week that they have entered into a strategic relationship intended to "advance the digital music marketplace" with content-management tools.
IBM, NARAS Join Forces on Grammy Website
The official websitehttp://www.grammy.com/">website; of the 41st Annual Grammy Awards was launched earlier this month with the help of a media team from the Atlanta division of International">http://www.ibm.com/">International Business Machines. The Java-based site provides background information on the artists and events of the music-awards extravaganza, taking place Wednesday evening, February 24, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Ibrahim Ferrer: 1927–2005
Ibrahim Ferrer, one of the best-known practitioners of the Cuban vocal music known as son, died in Havana on August 6 of multiple organ failure. He had returned, ill, from a European tour several days previously, and then been hospitalized.
Icons and innovators at Definitive Audio
Definitive Audio of Bellevue, Washington (near Seattle), one of the premier dealerships in the Pacific Northwest, continued its 50th anniversary celebration with a September event it called "Icons and Innovators." Highlighted by showings of the new JBL Everest series and Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus and 801 Abbey Road edition loudspeakers, the event drew a full house to the first of two sessions on the afternoon of September 18.
Ideon Axiom DAC Introduction
On Thursday April 2nd at Park Avenue Audio in NYC, Ideon Audio introduced their latest and greatest creation, the Axiom DAC. Walter Schofield, Co-Managing Director of the 2WA Group with Walter Swanbon, did the introductions. Miguel Barrio reports.
If At First You Don't Succeed . . .
When we received notice several days ago from Panasonichttp://www.panasonic.com">Panasonic; that the company was finally releasing its DVD-Audio players next month, we filed the press release for a couple of days to see if it would last the week (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10620/">previous story). Apparently, the products are still a go. Panasonic says it will offer a full line of DVD-Audio/Video models under both the Panasonic and Technics brand names, with the first units arriving in stores in July. As previously">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10509/">previously announced back in August 1999, the Panasonic DVD-A7 will have a suggested retail price of $999.95, and the Technics DVD-A10 will have an SRP of $1199.95.
If At First You Don't Succeed, Try the Internet
The audio business has been claiming its share of victims lately, with few companies able to reanimate once economic problems set in. Working hard to break this cycle, Carver">http://www.carver.com">Carver Corp. became one of the first manufacturers to switch from a dealer-based operation to both dealers and internet sales.
If At First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again Dept.
The largest advertising and promotional campaign for an audio product in Sony Electronics' (and possibly anyone's) history debuted during NBC's Thursday-night prime-time television lineup last week. The campaign, titled "Make it with MD," featured various celebrities as they moved through a Hollywood party sporting a small MiniDisc personal stereo unit playing their own personalized music mixes. Sony also plans major cable, billboard, print ad, and promotional tie-ins.
If They Build the Chips Will the Universal Players Come?
With the proliferation of audio and video formats based on the 5.25" disc (CD, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD-R, CD-V, DVD, etc), buying a universal player that can decode anything thrown at it is many a consumer's Holy Grail. But to date, the vast majority of manufacturers (Pioneer being a notable exception) have been taking sides, choosing to exclude either SACD or DVD-Audio playback from their machines.