CD Price-Fixing Case Settled
A "victory for consumers" may be a windfall for class-action attorneys and 41 states participating in a price-fixing">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10818/">price-fixing case against the music industry. Some schools and public libraries may also benefit.
CD Prices Drop
While Universal's heavily publicized attempt at CD price reduction didn't pan out as hoped last year, there is evidence to suggest that CD prices may be slowly moving downward.
CD Radio Announces Agreement with Alpine Electronics
Last week, satellite-to-car radio broadcaster CD">http://www.cdradio.com/">CD Radio announced an agreement with mobile electronics manufacturer Alpine">http://www.alpine1.com/">Alpine Electronics for the design and development of satellite radio receivers. Under the terms of the agreement, Alpine says it will design and develop three-band (AM/FM/CD Radio) audio receivers for installation by car manufacturers. The company also plans to design and develop satellite radio receivers for sale directly to consumers in the electronics aftermarket.
CD Recorder's Dirty Little Secret
The dirty little secret about consumer CD recorders has recently been getting out: In order to record on one of the new "inexpensive" consumer CD machines from such manufacturers as Pioneer or Philips, you have to purchase special "consumer audio" CD-Rs that can cost three to four times as much as the same CD-R formatted for use with a professional or computer-based CD recorder.
CD Recorders Fastest-Growing Category in Audio
More than a million CD recorders have been sold in the last 21 months, making the category one of the most rapidly developing segments in the history of the consumer electronics industry. The news was delivered by Philipshttp://www.philips.com/">Philips; executives at the end of August at the IFA trade and consumer exhibition in Berlin, Germany.
CD Recorders Getting Cheaper, More Plentiful
CD audio recorders are becoming affordable and more available. Philips'">http://www.philips.com/">Philips' CDR880 (reviewed by Wes Phillips in the current issue of Stereophile) will be in dealers' showrooms soon at a suggested retail price of $649. Pioneerhttp://pioneerelectronics.com/">Pioneer; will also have an inexpensive recorder on the market---the PD-R555RW, which will reportedly sell for $599. These two---and others that will no doubt follow---are welcome relief from the four-figure machines that have dominated the recordable audio CD niche.
CD Recorders Hot Commodity This Season
People love to make their own compilation recordings. That fact helped make the cassette deck the most successful audio format of all time, and it is driving sales of CD recorders, a product category new to most consumers. As predictedhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10533/">predicted; last summer, CD recorders have become one of the hottest niches in consumer audio, exceeding MiniDisc machines in total sales dollars. Sales are brisk despite the fact that CD recorders are among the priciest components on the market, ranging from $500 to $600. MiniDisc recorders for home use are priced at about $250 and up.
CD Recorders, DVD Changers Hot Items for Fall
Electronics dealers may have a great autumn if they load up on dual-well CD recorders and DVD carousel changers, two of the hottest audio fashion items. Major manufacturers like Kenwoodhttp://www.kenwood.com/">Kenwood;, Onkyohttp://www.onkyo.co.jp/">Onkyo;, Denon,http://www.denon.com/">Denon,;, and Harman/Kardonhttp://www.harman.com/">Harman/Kardon; have all announced plans to deliver recorders and DVD changers by October, in time for the holiday season.
CD Sales Up in '98; High End Stalls over DVD-Audio
Unit sales of CD players rebounded in 1998, rising 4% to $336 million, according to statistics from the Consumer">http://www.cemacity.org/">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association. All segments of the CD hardware market---single-play, carousel changers, and mega-disc changers---improved over the big slump of 1997, when unit sales fell 60% and dollar sales fell 40%. Through November 1998, single-disc player sales were up 33% in units and 24% in dollar volume. Carousel changers, component-CD's largest segment, rose 15% in units and 7.5% in dollars during the first three quarters of 1998.
CD Surround Sound
Will surround sound rejuvenate the music industry? That's the position many record label execs took when adding the capability to DVD-Audio and SACD years ago. But while they wait for the high-rez formats to catch on, SRS">http://www.srslabs.com">SRS Labs has decided to add multichannel audio to the conventional compact disc.