PSB Launches "Imagine" Loudspeakers
PSB came to New York in late July to debut its new line of loudspeakers, giving journos an advance peek at them before the official launch at the CEDIA Conference in early September. Paul">http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/231/">Paul Barton, showing a lot of emotion for a normally reserved Canadian, was frankly in love with the four new loudspeakers.
PSB Speakers launches SubSeries BP7 powered subwoofer
PSB Speakers just launched the SubSeries BP7 powered subwoofer, a compact sealed model with a bipolar driver array and a 350W Universal class-D (UCD) amplifier. Pricing is $1199 USD (tariff adjusted) and $1399 CAD.
Public Broadcasting Makes Major Investment in "New Media Age"
In an "increasingly complicated and competitive media environment," public broadcasting intends to be there. So declared the Corporation">http://www.cpb.org/">Corporation for Public Broadcasting on March 30, when it announced an almost $2 million investment in projects for National">http://www.npr.org/">National Public Radio and Public Interactive. CPB has long held the intellectual high ground in broadcasting, and its new investments are intended to continue that tradition. The goal of the program is to create "new content and services which will broaden the public square of ideas and civic discourse," according to a corporate press release.
Pure Audiophile is Born
It's a brave group of souls who run today's audiophile music labels. Sane business minds would likely deem it foolhardy to start a new specialty label these days, but sometimes one's passion for music overrides the rational impulse to try something a little bit more secure (like perhaps an Internet company?).
Qobuz Connect comes to BluOS for direct high-resolution app-to-player streaming
BluOS, the multiroom platform from Lenbrook Media Group, announced upcoming support for Qobuz Connect. The integration will let listeners cast music directly from the Qobuz app to any compatible BluOS player.
Qobuz Hi-Rez Streaming Launches in the US
Qobuz, the French subscription hi-rez streaming and download service, finally launches in the US today, right before the start of CanJam NYC. Qobuz not only offers more than 40 million tracks, over two million of which are said to be hi-rez, but also includes liner notes for many albums. The service has also secured partnerships that enable it to position Qobuz as the "official" streaming service of CanJam and other US high-end audio shows.
Qobuz Lowers Pricing, Some Other Streaming Services Respond
New York, NY. On November 8, at the very small New York Audio Show, Paris-based music streaming service Qobuz announced that it has streamlined its subscription plans, lowered prices, and discontinued MP3 streaming.
QSC Will Support Hales Loudspeakers, Says Brand's Founder
The fatehttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10924/">fate; of Hales Loudspeakers has been a subject of much concern and discussion among audiophiles since the shuttering of parent company Wadia Digital a few months ago. There is now considerable light at the end of the tunnel, as revealed by Hales founder L. Paul Hales in a telephone interview December 22.
Quad, Hales, Audio Physic, Cabasse, WBT---Day 3 at the London Heathrow Hi-Fi Show
Are there differences between an American hi-fi show and the British variety? A few---the biggest is the extent to which all the real business takes place at the bar. This is true for the audio press (okay, not all that different from an American show), but it's true for manufacturers as well. After Show hours, the boozer is jammed with everybody in the business sharing a few pints, smoking, and talking shop. It's not unusual to see business rivals chatting amiably about the state of the industry---and even discussing distribution in some detail.
Quarterly Figures Down for Big Retailers; Tweeter Adds Sound Advice
The first fiscal quarter was a slow one for major electronics retailers. Eden Prairie, MN–based Best">http://www.bestbuy.com">Best Buy reported a 3.1% drop in comparable-store sales, attributing the slowdown to diminished demand for personal computers. That figure is for stores open a year or longer; Best Buy's total sales for the quarter rose 25% to $3.69 billion from $2.96 billion, thanks to 11 new stores and the addition of the Musicland Group of music stores, which Best Buy acquired earlier this year. Although demand for hardware such as digital cameras, DVD players, and high-definition television sets was "brisk," the market for music CDs lagged more than 6% from last year, company officials explained.