Universal, BMG Embrace "Advanced Audio Coding" for Downloads
An improved digital-audio compression standard has been adopted by the Bertelsmann">http://www.bmg.com/">Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) and the Universal">http://www.umusic.com/">Universal Music Group for commercial music downloads. "Advanced Audio Coding" (AAC) is said to offer higher audio quality while occupying 30% less bandwidth and storage space than the popular MP3 format, according to an announcement from San Francisco–based Dolby">http://www.dolby.com/">Dolby Laboratories.
Universal, Sony Dropping Download Prices
It's still too early in the game to guess what a profitable music download business might look like, but it's clear that it won't involve highly restricted access—or high prices.
University Expansion in Chicago Sparks Protest by Bluesman
Chicago's Maxwell Street district is considered by many to be the birthplace of Chicago blues. But the old neighborhood is in danger of permanently losing some of its historic buildings, thanks to expansion plans by the University">http://www.uic.edu/">University of Illinois at Chicago. The potential loss of the neighborhood has sparked protests by a coalition of blues musicians, including a hunger strike by 69-year-old APO">http://www.acousticsounds.com/">APO Records artist Jimmie Lee Robinson.
Up, Down, Up, Down
It's been a roller coaster ride for satellite radio upstarts Sirius">http://www.siriusradio.com">Sirius Radio and XM">http://www.xmradio.com">XM Radio this past week as both companies fortunes shifted yet again. In a classic billion-dollar consumer electronics gamble, Sirius and XM are betting that they can reach critical mass by selling enough specially equiped digital radio receivers through car manufacturers while simultaneously signing up enough subscribers to reach profitability.
Update TV & Stereo Elevated opens in Unionville, Ontario
It's no secret that brick-and-mortar stores have had a rough time lately, with closures at an alarming rate. It's rare to encounter a new store that is devoted to high-performance audio and video. A store that fits this description opened recently in the picturesque village of Unionville, just outside Toronto.
Update TV & Stereo Elevated opens in Unionville, Ontario
It's no secret that brick-and-mortar stores have had a rough time lately, with closures at an alarming rate. It's rare to encounter a new store that is devoted to high-performance audio and video. A store that fits this description opened recently in the picturesque village of Unionville, just outside Toronto.
Update TV & Stereo Elevated: A Year Later
It's been almost exactly a year since I reported on the opening of a new store dedicated to high-performance audio and video in Unionville, Ontario. To mark the first anniversary of the store's opening, they had a party to celebrate the occasion.
Updating Two Classics
Audiophiles of a certain age may very well have first tasted high-end sound by way of Linn's 1972 Sondek">http://www.stereophile.com/turntables/1103linn/">Sondek LP12 turntable and/or Naim's 1982 Nait">http://www.stereophile.com/integratedamps/660/">Nait integrated amplifier. There aren't many audio manufacturers that have managed to keep components in production for 25 years (35 for the Linn), but the two venerable British designs have been continuously upgraded over their lives, keeping them competitive.
uPod, iPod, everybodyhasaPod
Although some won't openly admit it, plenty of audiophiles with nice systems also own iPods. And they are not alone. According to figures recently revealed by the Consumer">http://www.CE.org">Consumer Electronics Association, more than 152 million Americans, representing 70% of the total US adult population, own some kind of portable entertainment device.
Upper East Side Fringe: The Show at Lyric
Stephen Mejias: On Thursday, April 12, Stereophile’s editorial assistant, Ariel Bitran, and I left the office at around 5pm, walked over to Grand Central, hopped on the 6 train, and made our way to New York City’s Lyric Hi-Fi.
As Ariel discussed last week, Lyric was one of two premier NYC dealers—the other was Stereo Exchange—that opted against participating in the New York Audio & AV Show, and instead held their own events.
Because both Lyric and Stereo Exchange are successful operations, run by smart people, we figured they must have good reasons for doing things their own way. But, even as the weekend approached, those reasons weren’t fully clear. Were financial obstacles impossible to overcome? Were issues of logistics too much of a burden? Had there been some sort of communication breakdown between the dealers and the show’s organizers? Did it simply make little sense for Lyric and Stereo Exchange to participate, or were they just being hard-nosed, stubborn, elitist?
Perhaps we would find some answers inside.