"Naim For Bentley" Shoots For World's Best In-Car Audio
Bentley Motors, the 89-year-old, Volkswagen-owned manufacturer of bespoke luxury automobiles has decided that a high-end audio system would complete its definition of automotive excellence, choosing Salisbury-based audio manufacturer Naim to develop a "Naim For Bentley" system.
"Our best CD yet!" says JA of Stereophile's Latest CD, Bravo!
Editor's Note: Stereophile's new release, Bravo!, is available for order through the Recordings">https://secure.stereophile.com/stereophile/record.html">Recordings page of this website.
"Professor" Johnson Scores His First Grammy
After seven previous Grammy nominations for his engineering efforts, veteran recording engineer and equipment designer Keith O. Johnson has received his first Grammy. Together with producer David Frost, "Professor" Johnson won Best Surround Sound Album (for vocal or instrumental albums) at the 53rd Annual Grammy® Awards.
"Recommended Components" Erratum
The listing for the Rogue Audio M-120 monoblock power amplifier in the current issue's "Recommended Components" includes the comment, "Specified output power is 120W; JA measured just 100W into 8 ohms at clipping," which seems to suggest that Rogue Audio is overstating the amplifier's output power. This is not the case. The M-120 can be operated in both ultralinear pentode mode, in which it delivers the specified 120W, and in triode mode, in which it is specified at 60W. Our measurements were performed in triode mode; thus the 100W clipping power does, in fact, exceed the M-120's claimed output power of 60 watts in triode mode. Our apologies to Rogue Audio and to anyone confused by our lack of clarity.
"Soul Man" Case Settled
Singer Sam Moore has won a protracted lawsuit brought against retirement fund trustees of the American">www.aftra.com">American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). The settlement of the nine-year-old case was announced in an Atlanta federal court on Wednesday, December 5.
"This is exciting," says Thiel's new CEO, Bill Thomas
Bill Thomas at CES with the ground-breaking coaxial HF/MF unit designed by Jim Thiel (Photo: John Atkinson)
We reported last November that Thiel Audio Products, the Kentucky-based speaker manufacturer founded by Kathy Gornik and the late Jim Thiel, had been had been acquired by a private equity firm based in Nashville, TN, and that Gornik was no longer with the company. At the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, held January 811 in Las Vegas, the Thiel display at the Sands Convention Center was packed. I met up with Thiel's new CEO, 55-year old Bill Thomas, and asked him what had led him and his two partners to acquire the company."XMas in August"; Satellite Radio's Chart Success
XMas in August: XM Satellite Radio held its annual "XMas in August" new product show in Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on August 9. Trumpeting the XM-related products that will be available for the 2005 holiday shopping season, the satellite radio provider announced strategic relationships with Altec Lansing and Belkin Corporation, as well as newer, smaller receivers from longtime partners Audiovox and Delphi. A Samsung-sourced MP3-enabled receiver with Napster capabilities was also announced.
(Mostly) Analog Adventures By the Bay
Zesto’s George Counnas gets excited about his tubed phono and line preamps
It was a first-time venture for Elite Audio Systems, San Francisco’s newest and unique fine-audio emporium. On June 29, 2013, proprietor Michael Woods opened his doors to an event, co-organized with Peter Truce of the Bay Area Audiophile Society’s Analog Committee, that drew close to 60 folks to two mainly analog listening sessions.(Multiwave) Power to the People
By their very nature, most audiophiles seem perpetually restless, never content with that last tweak. Following in that hallowed tradition, PS">http://www.psaudio.com">PS Audio has been trying to reinvent the technologies traditionally used in power-line conditioners to optimize those pulses of alternating current that juice our audio systems. The company made waves with the introduction of their Power Plant line of products last year (see previous">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10317/">previous report); their P300 garnered a very positive reviewhttp://www.stereophile.com//accessoryreviews/181/">review; from Stereophile's Robert Deutsch.
2004 Stereophile Buyer's Guide
The 2004 Stereophile Buyer's Guide hits the newsstands this week. Within its 228 jumbo-sized and color-coded pages you'll find listings of every audio component currently available in the US (other than boomboxes and other portable players), along with their specifications and prices. It also includes what we feel is the most complete listing of audio manufacturer websites on the planet.