Tower Can't Wait for no RIAA
Getting a jump on the RIAA's move to create a new music-download standard (see">http://www.stereophile.com/news/10338/">see related article), Tower Records announced last week that it will feature a new song-download service, created by Atlanta-based amplified.comhttp://www.amplified.com">amplified.com;, on the Towerrecords.comhttp://www.towerrecords.com">Towerrecords.com; website.
Tower Emerging from Chapter 11
Tower">http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records should be back in fighting form on Monday, March 15 when a Delaware bankruptcy court rules on the company's reorganization plans.
Tower Records Liquidated
Even after a two-day auction and federal bankruptcy court approval of a $134.3 million bid by the Great American Group, which has stated that it plans to liquidate the music retailer, it's not precisely clear what is in store for Tower Records.
Tower Records: No Bankruptcy
The fate of Tower">http://www.towerrecords.com">Tower Records has been the subject of music industry speculation for months. The company's financial difficulties have been no secret; several stories recently appeared alluding to a new Tower">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11041/">Tower policy of making some suppliers share the burden—especially distributors of small specialty classical labels.
Traitors In Our Midst
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. This is especially true for music lovers who have begun to fear that record companies purposely">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11261/">purposely corrupt the data on audio CDs in an effort to restrict their use as a source for copies or MP3 files.
Treble Clef Audio and Vinnie Rossi at AXPONA 2026
Miguel Barrio checks out Treble Clef Audio's TCA-M Signature active speaker; a new, as yet unnamed Vinnie Rossi phono preamplifier; and a Vinnie Rossi Brama preamplifier at AXPONA 2026.
Treehaus Audiolab
Can you judge an exhibitor's products by the music he plays? Perhaps not, but when I walk into a room playing "Hotel California," that mad percussion ditty "Music for Bang, Baa-Room and Harp," 90s grunge (footnote 1), or God No! Jazz at the Pawnshop, it's all I can do to stay put and not scream.
TriangleArt's Gold Almost Goes Solo
Ensconced in one of the Hilton Long Beach's larger rooms, Tom Vu had intended to present an all-TriangleArt system until the Great Egyptian Shipping God in the Sky announced total displeasure at the state of the world. Demanding a sacrifice for our collective sins, GESGitS blew a gasket and chose as his victims TriangleArt's Metis loudspeakers ($59,999/pair), which never reached the Hilton Long Beach. Borrowed Usher speakers saved the day.
Tributaries Offers Flagship Cables
John Atkinson and I recently spent a few hours talking to cable manufacturer Tributaries'">http://www.tributariescable.com/">Tributaries' president and founder, Joe Perfito. Perfito had come to NYC to meet the press and introduce his company's newest cable families, the high-end Series 7 and the higher-end Series 9. "The Series 9 cables are the best cables we know how to make," Perfito told us. "The interconnects are hand-made of 20AWF solid OFHC signal conductor and a 1.25% silver-plated 46-strand 20AWG OFHC return conductor. We use an LDPE dielectric and an OFHC copper-braided shield and a double-sided copper foil secondary shield for 100% freedom from interference. The conductors are double-soldered to the solid brass connectors, then pressure welded—they will not let go of one another."
Troubling Times for Some Internet Startups
It's been a rough season for some in the e-commerce crowd, as several consumer-electronics Internet startups find themselves amid changes. Last week, CyberShop.comhttp://www.CyberShop.com">CyberShop.com; announced that it will close the e-tailing sites CyberShop.com and electronics.net (created as a joint venture with Tops Appliance City, which is now under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection) and sell these operations' remaining retail assets. At the same time, the company says it will launch an "Internet incubator" through the establishment of Grove">http://www.grovestreetventures.com">Grove Street Ventures to attract and develop startup Internet companies.