Scientists: CD Rot For Real
The compact disc has given rise to all sorts of questionable accessories: magic pens with green ink, reflective stickers, rim dampers, absorbent mats, spindle weights, cleaners, buffers, polishers, and demagnetizers. It's amazing how many products are needed to make perfect sound perfect.
Scott McGowan launches Sprout HiFi after 17 years at PS Audio
Scott McGowan has left PS Audio to form Sprout HiFi, a new company built around a next-generation Sprout amplifier. The first Sprout HiFi product, a revamped version of the Sprout100, is projected for 2026, with email sign-ups open now.
Scott Walker Audio Surprises with Estelon, Soulution, Synergistic Research at T.H.E. Show
First things first. This was one of the best-sounding rooms at T.H.E. Show. Given its sheer size, I have no question that some of the success was due to the various and sundry magical Synergistic Research accoutermentsI counted 10 so-called "Acoustic Room Treatment" devices and 5 Synergistic Power Conditioning devices (including Purple fuses)along with new Synergistic Racks (intended for internal use) and, no surprise, Synergistic Research cabling.
Scratching That Vinyl Itch
Music lover Dennis Cassidy had an itch years ago to start an audiophile label dedicated to releasing the particular kinds of music he liked with the best vinyl and packaging available. Cassidy was involved with music distributor Sound Advice at the time, which sold the standard audiophile favorites from Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, and others.
SDMI Applies Legal Pressure to Suppress Hacks
Back in September, the Secure">http://www.sdmi.org">Secure Digital Music Initiative issued a public challenge that offered cash rewards for successfully uncovering and removing watermarks from recorded music. The challenge">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10878/">challenge was met by a number of hackers, most notable among them Professor Edward Felten of Princeton University's Computer Science Department.
SDMI Chooses Aris Technologies' MusiCode
After months of wrangling, the Secure">http://www.sdmi.org/">Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) has selected Aris">http://www.musicode.com/">Aris Technologies' MusiCode as its recommended form of digital audio copy protection, according to an inside source at SDMI. The decision came at the end of weeks of testinghttp://www.stereophile.com/news/10511/">testing; various watermarking techniques on the music industry's "golden ears"—recording and mastering engineers, music producers, and professional audiophiles. The official announcement is expected later this week.
SDMI Compromises with MP3, Will Release Spec Soon
Folk wisdom has it that it's wiser not to lock the gate after the horses have escaped. The Secure">http://www.sdmi.org/">Secure Digital Music Initiative, a consortium of 140 music, software, and hardware companies, has taken that adage to heart. In a significant departure from its original intent to block the distribution of free music on the Internet, the Secure Digital Music Initiative announced in the last week of June that its forthcoming specification for music software and hardware will accommodate the "legacy content" already in existence. There are reportedly as many as 500,000 songs available in the MP3 format, and they will continue to be available even as new, robustly encrypted music comes onto the market.
SDMI Conducts Phase II Watermark Tests in Nashville
Last night I saw him on the stair—
the little man who wasn't there.
I saw him there again today;
oh, how I wish he'd go away.
the little man who wasn't there.
I saw him there again today;
oh, how I wish he'd go away.
SDMI Director Chiariglione Calls it Quits
In a move that some cynics are calling "the beginning of the end" for the Secure">http://www.sdmi.org/">Secure Digital Music Initiative, the group's director has abruptly resigned. Leonard Chiariglione, who has headed the cross-industry anti-piracy organization since its inception more than two years ago, made the announcement Wednesday, January 24 at the first SDMI meeting of 2001.
SDMI Efforts in Disarray?
Sudden awareness of free digital downloadable music on the Internet sent the music industry into a panic last year. The Secure">http://www.sdmi.org/">Secure Digital Music Initiative, a coalition of record labels, software companies, and electronics manufacturers, worked overtime developing standards for encrypting music in an attempt to thwart piracy. Preliminary guidelines for copyright protection were issued in June. Most recently, the SDMI completed a series of listening tests intended to find the least intrusive form of encryption. The organization seemed to present a united front in the anti-piracy war.