As we <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/010904ces/">discovered earlier</A> this year, Microsoft is trying to make friends with audiophiles. Need more proof? The software behemoth recently announced broad support for what it has termed the "Universal Audio Architecture" (UAA) initiative, which, the company claims, "will help to ensure an improved audio experience and improved audio device driver support for users of Windows."
Running audio signals around a home's AC power wiring has been a <A HREF="integrated
Integrated http://www.stereophile.com/news/10754/index.html">consumer electronics goal</A> for several years. The reasoning goes that most folks live in homes that cannot be easily rewired for multiroom audio or multichannel surround, so why not use the AC wires that are already in the walls? Think of it as the ultimate solid-core interconnect.
<I>Stereophile</I> readers are clearly in <A HREF="http://cgi.stereophile.com/cgi-bin/showvote.cgi?327">favor</A> of our <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/934/">coverage</A> of products like Apple's iPod. But judging by some of the comments we receive, they're split on whether it's been a kick in the pants for music lovers or just added to the downward low-rez spiral of digital audio.
Audiophiles are faced with a sonic and musical quandary: Are we looking for an absolutely faithful reproduction of a recorded work, regardless of its inherent defects, or are we willing to tune our component choices and room to euphonize everything across the board—at the expense of over-glossing the better titles in our collection?
New Zealand's <A HREF="http://www.perreaux.com">Perreaux Industries</A> began creating audio products 30 years ago, starting with the GS 2002 integrated transistor amplifier in 1974, and landed in the US in 1980 with the PMF 2150 amplifier. <A HREF="http://www.perreaux.com/backcat.php">Dozens</A> of new audio products have been developed since then, many of them groundbreaking, and the latest designs are again available in the American market.
Music buyer beware: <A HREF="http://www.sunncomm.com">SunnComm</A> announced last week the dubious milestone that it had shipped over one million restricted MediaMax audio CDs in March and expects to beat those numbers in April. The MediaMax M4 suite of "Digital Content Enhancement" technologies is built using the Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series platform.
Radio has been getting a new lease on life, with Sirius and XM satellite services, DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), and Internet "stations" popping up in the tens of thousands. With the Clear Channelfication of North America's FM and AM airwaves, many would argue that the timing couldn't be better for launching new broadcast technologies.
Long-time readers of <I>Stereophile</I>, with stacks of magazines stuffed in their closets, will be glad to hear that we are launching a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/images/masterindex/index.html">Master Index</A> of past articles and publishing it free of charge online.
The darTZeel NHB-108 power amplifier garnered effusive praise from <I>Stereophile</I>'s John Marks in his <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/932/index.html">Septemb… 2003 Fifth Element</A> column, including the comment "the sweetest-sounding solid-state power amplifier I have ever heard." There was only one problem: the amp was hard to find in the US.
While Apple's iTunes and RealNetworks Rhapsody are battling it out in the music download ring (see <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/032204itunes">related story</A>), and Microsoft is rumored to be eyeing a corner, Sony has now decided to join the fray with a new music service announced last week in Europe.