News

Jim Austin appointed Stereophile Editor as John Atkinson transitions to new role as Technical Editor

NEW YORK, NY— AVTech Media Americas announces key editorial changes at its premier hi-fi title, Stereophile. John Atkinson, Stereophile's Editor and guiding light for 33 years, will step down from this position following the publication of the June (coverdate) issue, while Jim Austin will formally assume the mantle of Stereophile's Editor from the July issue. John will remain a key member of the Stereophile team in his capacity as Technical Editor, contributing reviews and in-depth lab tests.

In its latest new location, the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, NY, the 2015 edition of the three-day New York Audio Show kicks off on Friday, November 6. The hotel, which is located on 37 acres of woodlands, comes complete with what are reported to be "panoramic view of lush gardens," two swimming pools, tennis courts, whirlpool, sauna, spa, fitness room, walking and jogging trails. While that may be of interest only to out-of-towners staying for the weekend, local guests will want to learn that the venue is a five-minute cab ride from the nearest Metro North train station (think Madmen), and offers free parking.

There are a variety of ways to empty a large bucket of water: The entire contents can be quickly dumped in a dramatic rush, or a small hole can be punched in the bottom, allowing a smaller but continual flow over an extended period of time. Digital data can be seen as the water in the DVD "bucket," with 24/192 multi-channel sound being the equivalent of a big audio splash.

Flexibility is the name of the game as Theta">http://www.thetadigital.com/">Theta Digital plays it. The innovative Agoura Hills, CA company has announced the Casablanca II, a modular upgradable preamp/processor for music and cinema applications, as well as two-channel modules for its Dreadnaught power amplifier.

We received the following press release last night. No more information was available and there was no word when this story was first posted on whether or not Thiel cofounder Kathy Gornik will remain with the company. Since then, however, CEPro.com has reported that Kathy and her daughter Dawn Cloyd, who was director of international sales, will both leave Thiel. Why the sale? Our suspicion is that while Thiel remains a great brand, it is too small a company, with no access to a significant source of capital, to be able to compete effectively in today's market.

The quest for new speaker technologies has resulted in some novel approaches to the reproduction of sound, as witnessed by products announced in the last few years by NXThttp://www.nxt.co.uk/">NXT; and 1 . . . Ltd. (See previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10234/">previous story.) Some of Stereophile's readers may also recall that, back in May 1996, American">http://www.atcsd.com">American Technology Corp. shook things up in the audio world by announcing what the company described as its "breakthough" new technology, the much-debated HyperSonic Sound (HSS). This was followed up in February 1997, when ATC announced the introduction of its Stratified Field Technology SFT, which company literature touted as "a significant improvement over conventional loudspeakers."

The Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com/">Sirius Satellite Radio constellation will soon be in position, thanks to the successful launch November 30 of Sirius-3, the third satellite in the Sirius system. The transponders are being arrayed in geosynchronous orbits above North America for maximum radio coverage, which will begin in 2001. The previous two satellites were launched last summer and in early autumn.