Bang & Olufsen Hits the Road
Danish audio-video manufacturer Bang">http://www.bang-olufsen.com/">Bang & Olufsen has long been known for its unusual product designs. Eschewing the normal tendency of consumer electronics manufacturers to design their circuits and transports into stackable black boxes, the company's current home-audio line includes colorful vertical CD stacks with sliding clear-glass doors and brushed-aluminum cylindrical speakers.
Bankruptcy Announced
On April 8, Recoton">http://www.rcot.com">Recoton Corporation voluntarily revealed that it and all of its US-based subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
Bankruptcy for Genesis
Genesis Technologies, one of the audio industry's most respected names throughout the 1990s, has ceased operation and has filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 7 of US bankruptcy law. The company's website (www.gen-tech.com) has gone dark. Genesis was more than a million dollars in debt near the end, according to a source familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Barnesandnoble.com Jumps into Online Music Fray
One would think that the Internet was growing crowded with online music retailers such as CDnow/N2K, Amazon.com, EveryCD, and Tower Records, just to name a few, all hustling CDs. But the lure of gold in them e-commerce hills is hard to resist. Last week, barnesandnoble.comhttp://barnesandnoble.com">barnesandnoble.com; jumped into the fray and announced the launch of its own Music Store, featuring what the company describes as the first "online classical music superstore." Notably late to market with its online bookselling franchise, barnesandnoble.com hopes to gain ground against arch-rival Amazon.com by expanding beyond books and better focusing on niche markets.
Basil Audio Presents "It's About the Music" Tuesday November 6
Tuesday, November 6, Basil Audio (22183 Villa Oaks Lane, Saratoga, CA 95070) is holding its first annual "It's About the Music" event. The open house will begin at 10am, with demonstrations available until 10pm. Representatives from Focal, Naim Audio, and McIntosh Laboratory will be on hand to demonstrate their products and answer questions. Manufacturer presentations will take place 79pm. Among the highlights will be the first North American demonstration of Melco's N100 Digital Music Library.
Bay Area GamuT Speaker Set-Up Seminars Today & Tomorrow
AudioVisionSF (1628 California Street, San Francisco) and Lavish HiFi (1044 4th Street, Santa Rosa) are holding loudspeaker set-uos today, 7:309:30pm (AVSF) and tomorrow, 27pm (Lavish) featuring Benno Meldgaard (Chief Designer, pictured above at the 2014 RMAF) and Michael Vamos of GamuT.
BBC Beethoven Aftershocks
Back in June, we reported on the http://stereophile.com/news/060605BBC/"> BBC's "The Beethoven Experience", described as "a bold experiment in whether or not free music stimulates legitimate music sales or suppresses them." Last week, The Independent published a terse 200-word article, reporting that the Beeb had downloaded one million files during the Experience, and stating "The initiative has infuriated the bosses of leading classical record companies, who argue the offer undermines the value of music and that any further offers would be unfair competition."
BBC Offers "The Beethoven Experience"
Starting on Sunday, June 4, and continuing through Friday, June 10, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will broadcast all of Beethoven's">http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/beethovenexperience/pip/archive/">Beethoven… compositions as "The Beethoven Experience."
Be, Inc.'s HARP: "Reference Platform" for Internet Audio?
At massive gatherings like the Consumer Electronics Show, some truly newsworthy developments by small companies go unnoticed, overshadowed by splashy launches put on by bigger firms. One such is Be">http://www.be.com/">Be, Inc.'s "Home Audio Reference Platform" (BeIA HARP), an all-purpose computer audio system. HARP will let computers access and broadcast Internet-based audio and services, and will also let them play CDs, tapes, and LPs.
Beatles iTunes Reunion Near?
UK newspaper The Telegraph reported March 3 that Sir Paul McCartney has signed a $6 million deal to release the Beatles catalog to iTunes for downloading. While The Independent and the Daily Mail have also reported the same thing, there has been no confirmation from Apple, EMI, McCartney, surviving Beatle Ringo Starr, or the families of deceased members John Lennon or George Harrison.