Products Worth Investigating
Home theater may be the electronic industry's golden goose, but, contrary to nasty rumors, standalone audio is sailing along proudly, as demonstrated by several recently released products.
Products Worth Investigating
One of the more intriguing discussions we had at last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was with Jim Weil of Berkeley, CA–based Sound">http://www.soundapplication.com">Sound Application.
Profit Picture Improves for EMI
Two scuttled mergers in the past year haven't damaged the profit picture for EMI">http://www.emigroup.com">EMI Group PLC. Neither has a global slowdown in music sales. EMI announced May 22 that it expects to see a 5.7% increase in pretax profits for its fiscal year ended March 31: £259.5 million (US $374 million), up from £245.4 million (US $353 million) a year earlier. EMI's sales for the year rose 12% to £2.67 billion (US $3.84 billion).
Profitless BMG May Lay Off Hundreds
A year without profits, a revolving door on the top floor, and potentially massive layoffs all spell trouble for BMG">http://www.bmg.com">BMG Entertainment.
Project K622
Since it has been five years since the debut of SACD, one might think that the debate as to where it fits within the audiophile food chain would have been put to rest. But as with most things audio, reality conspires to make rational comparisons between formats tough. One is never sure if two releases on different formats have been rendered from the same source, or, as">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11649/">as we discovered with the recent Dark Side of the Moon hybrid SACD, from completely different masters.
Promates: The World's First DXD Download Store
The world's first download site devoted exclusively to ultra hi-resolution DXD downloads, Promates Music Store, has launched from Copenhagen. The brainchild of Peter Scheelke, who in 2003 helped found Digital Audio Denmark (DAD), creator of the world's first commercial DXD converter, the site currently offers 26 native DXD recordings (352.8kHz sampling rate and 24-bit bit depth) from labels Dacapo and OUR Recordings.
Protecting the Consumer
The record companies have declared war on their customers when it comes to the fair use rights of purchased music, and it would appear that they want the government to enlist in their crusade. Previous weeks have seen South Carolina senator Ernest Hollings propose draconian copyright">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11287/">copyright legislation as well as recent pro-Hollywood remarks from California's senator Diane Feinstein.
PS Audio Goes Direct in the US
In a late-August newsletter, PS Audio announced a major change in how it does business. In the United States, its home market, the company stopped selling its products through dealers and opted for a direct, online-only sales model. Outside the US, it will continue to sell through authorized dealers.
PS Audio Reborn
We'd been playing phone tag for a couple of weeks, but Paul McGowan was finally tethered to a handset as he explained to me a product from his "new" company, the reincarnation of PS">http://www.psaudio.com">PS Audio. "Everything you've ever wanted in a power conditioner---times 10---with none of the drawbacks!" McGowan could hardly contain himself while pitching his latest brainstorm. He certainly had an intriguing idea, but the path from founder of PS Audio back in the late '70s to Genesis">http://www.gen-tech.com">Genesis Technologies and back again was nearly as interesting.
PS Audio's Power Plant P500
Over the past few years, PS">http://www.psaudio.com">PS Audio's P300http://www.stereophile.com//accessoryreviews/181/">P300; AC regenerator has been very well received by the audiophile community, winning praise (and a Stereophile "Recommended Components" listing) for its ability to lower the noise floor to vanishing levels and to extract unforeseen levels of performance from users' hi-fi systems. Good as it is, the P300 disappointed some because it can't supply enough current for power amps or other juice-hungry gear needing more than its 300W maximum. Some users also complained that despite the sonic improvement offered, the P300 was too bulky for its power rating, ran too hot, and drew too much current when simply idling.