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Tweeter Threatens Chapter 11

Wes Phillips May 13, 2007 First Published: May 13, 2007 0 comments

On May 10, Tweeter Home Entertainment Group announced that it has insufficient working capital to cover its long- and short-term costs and may have to consider filing for Chapter 11. The immediate cause of the shortfall is the cost of closing 49 stores and two distribution centers. This Week in Consumer Electronics reported specifically that lump sum payments to lease-holding landlords was a contributory factor.

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Internet Radio Reprieve?

Wes Phillips May 06, 2007 First Published: May 06, 2007 0 comments

Internet radio streams have received a reprieve from the US Copyright Review Board (CRB) decision to restructure">http://stereophile.com/news/042307net/">restructure the royalty fees for the format. In March, the CRB established fees, effective retroactively to the beginning of 2006, that would be ramped up each year through 2010, with a cost of 0.08¢ per performance (per listener) in 2006, going up to 0.11¢ in 2007; 0.14¢ in 2008; 0.18¢ in 2009; and 0.19¢ in 2010.

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Pass Labs Starts Over Again in the US

Wes Phillips May 06, 2007 First Published: May 06, 2007 0 comments

It began with an email from reader Ed Hoffman. "I was looking for a Pass Labs dealer and found out that Pass Labs has dumped all of their dealers around the country. Do you have any information about what is going on?"

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New Laws May Doom Second-Hand CD Sales

Wes Phillips May 06, 2007 First Published: May 06, 2007 0 comments

John Mitchell, an outside counsel for the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), warns that Florida and Utah have passed second-hand goods legislation (familiarly known as "pawn-shop laws") that could make the buying and selling of used CDs extremely unprofitable for stores and inconvenient for consumers trying to unload music they no longer wish to own.

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Mstislav Rostropovich (1927–2007)

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 29, 2007 First Published: Apr 29, 2007 0 comments

"Slava" has died. The great Russian cellist, known as much for his defiance of the Soviet oligarchy as for the more than 170 compositions dedicated to him, had been hospitalized in Paris at the end of January, but chose to fly to Moscow shortly thereafter to spend his last months in his beloved homeland. He is survived, not only by his two daughters and his wife and frequent collaborator, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, but also by the huge number of recordings that attest to his eloquence.

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B&W NA Appoints New Sales VP

Wes Phillips Apr 29, 2007 First Published: Apr 29, 2007 0 comments

B&W Group North America (Equity) has announced that Doug Henderson will assume the position of vice president of sales and marketing as of April 30. Henderson has been a principal of Audtek Associates for more than 20 years. "I'm excited about this move," Henderson told Stereophile. "At Audtek, we specialized in brand building, and we accomplished a lot with some very good companies. With B&W Group, I have the opportunity to use those skills with some of the finest equipment available today—and I have a great independent sales force to work with. It's an unrivaled opportunity."

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Harman International To Be Acquired by Goldman Sachs and KKR for $8 Billion

Wes Phillips Apr 28, 2007 First Published: Apr 28, 2007 0 comments

Harman International Industries, Inc has agreed to be acquired by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (GSCP) and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) for a price of $120 per share (a total near $8 billion). The share price represents what Bloomberg.com characterized as a 17% premium over its price one day earlier. The company's stock had been increasing in value, having risen by about 2.6% since the beginning of 2007, but beginning April 18, the stock began to surge, "indicating some investors anticipated the buyout," according to Bloomberg. John Rogers, a Citigroup analyst, had predicted in February that Harman was choice for acquisition, estimating that private equity buyers could pay a premium of 20% over its share price and still see annual returns of 20%.

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HE2007 Offers Free Concerts!

Stereophile Staff Apr 23, 2007 First Published: Apr 23, 2007 0 comments

A ticket to Home Entertainment 2007—The High Performance Sound & Imaging Show,, to be held May 11-13, 2007 at the Grand Hyatt New York Hotel in New York City, offers attendees a chance to hear live musical performances from some of the great artists of classical music and jazz.

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Head-Fest 2007: Head-Fi Meets Silicon Valley

Wes Phillips Apr 22, 2007 First Published: Apr 22, 2007 0 comments

The Internet audio forum Head-Fihttp://www.head-fi.org/forums">Head-Fi; is one of the few places on the Web where you can hang out with truly passionate audiophiles and not come away despairing at the state of current public discourse. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Head-Fi's regional and national meets have that same sense of relaxed solidarity. But what always strikes me at these events, such as the national Head-Fest 2007 get-together in San Jose on April 21 and 22, is just how darned sociable Head-Fiers are, considering they are celebrating an activity that is so intensely solitary.

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Linn Getting in Tune

Wes Phillips Apr 21, 2007 First Published: Apr 21, 2007 0 comments

Iconic audio manufacturer Linn Products announced April 18 that the Scottish firm will "realign" its business strategy to create "a more focused range of even higher quality products, specifically aimed at the premium end of the consumer market."