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Octave Unveils the Jubilee Class A Mono Amplifier

Octave Audio of Karlsbad, Germany, a longtime manufacturer of tube electronics, presented the North American debut of its new Octave Jubilee Class A mono amplifier ($85,000/pair) at Definitive Audio, Bellevue (across the lake from Seattle) on January 29. The first stop in a three-city US tour by Andreas Hofmann, company president and designer, and John Quick, VP Sales & Marketing for Octave's US distributor, Dynaudio North America, the multi-day event included two back-to-back sessions followed by open houses.

Oh Boy, Another Format

Hollywood Records, part of Walt Disney Co., announced that it will offer a new CD format it calls CDVU+ (CD view plus). In addition to traditional CD content, CDVU+ will offer lyrics, digital magazine articles, band photos, guitar lessons, and other features that will "build loyalty." Hollywood Records senior vice-president Ken Bunt said the company chose an enhanced CD format rather than a file-based format because "we really believe if you're going to give consumers what they want, we should do it in a way they're used to."

Oh Boy—The Audio Broadcast Flag Licensing Act of 2006

No, you aren't reading an old newsdesk article that has inadvertently been published a second (or third) time. On March 2, congressional representative Mike Ferguson (R-NJ) introduced House Resolution 4861, "the audio broadcast licensing act of 2006." Ferguson's co-sponsors were Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Mary Bono (R-CA), Bart Gordon (D-TN), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

Olive and MusicGiants Team Up

Olive">http://www.olive.us">Olive Media Products, manufacturers of audiophile-quality Olive music servers, has partnered with MusicGiantshttp://www.musicgiants.com">MusicGiants;, the leading site for CD-quality music downloads. Olive's well-received Opus line of digital players now allows users to download, store, manage, and play large collections of CD-quality music directly from MusicGiants without needing to buy or rip CDs, select track by track, or use a computer. (You can find John Atkinson's positive review of the Olive Symphony herehttp://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/406olive/">here;.)

On Its Way 2U: the February Issue

Hitting newsstands, tables, and mailboxes next week, the February 2017 issue features the 27th edition of our perennially popular "Records 2 Die 4," where the magazine's writers and editors each list two recordings that they will take with them when they go. And we haven't forgotten the hardware: John Atkinson waxes lyrical over the Magico S5 Mk.II speaker; Ken Micallef does likewise over the unique NEAT Iota Alpha; Mikey Fremer drives his Wilsons with humongous Boulder monoblocks; Art Dudley and Herb Reichert listen to idiosyncratic digital components from EAR and Schiit; and Herb Reichert auditions Rega's new Planar 3 LP player.

On Newsstands Now: Our February Issue!

Canadian manufacturer Bryston is known for its amplifiers but it is a loudspeaker that gets the cover treatment this month. Kalman Rubinson likes what he heard from this mid-priced tower, while John Atkinson spends some of his valuable listening time with a speaker that costs less than $60/pair. “Affordable” is also the name of the game both with VPI’s Nomad record player and GoldenEar’s awesome Triton One speaker reviewed in this issue. But it is our annual “Records to Die For” that headlines this issue: our editors and writers review 54 albums, ranging from chamber music to psychedelia, that are essential listens. Check this 156-page issue out.
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