McIntosh Spins!
I got another chance to see—and this time, <I>hear</I>— the $9000 MT10 turntable. "You know, this product generated more comments in our CEDIA2007 blog than any other component."
Wes Phillips
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ESS Sabre Reference Audio DAC
When I first received an email from ESS announcing a new DAC, I assumed someone had revived the old Electro Static Sound, but I was wrong.
Transrotor Artus
I have seen few turntables, no <I>any</I> mechanical devices more likely to induce flat-out gadget lust than the $150,000 Transrotor Artus. It has a magnetically coupled drive assembly, which means no points of contact between motor and platter. It's machined from solid billets of high-grade aluminum, finished to an impeccable sheen. Its deck is gimbal-mounted to freakishly huge counterweights for absolute level and stability (think gyroscope here). Its power supply uses something called "Konstant M3," which I gather is pretty special, but my limited German and the Transrotor rep's far less limited English prevented me from determining in what way.
Microsoft's Strange Sense of Humor
Microsoft wanted to talk to me about its Windows Home Server division—and I wanted to hear what they said because I was impressed last summer at the company's commitment to making its Home Server software as simple as pie.
Happy Birthday Elvis
Actually his birthday was yesterday, and fans left plenty of presents.
Where'd I Go?
Why off to CES2008, of course. Check out <I>Stereophile</I>'s coverage at our <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2008/">Show blog</A>.
Sony BMG Drops DRM
On January 4, <I>BusinessWeek.com</I> <A HREF="http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2008/tc2008013_398775…; that Sony BMG Music Entertainment was dropping digital rights management (DRM) from "at least part of its collection." Sony BMG thus becomes the last of the big four music labels to do so—following <A HREF="http://stereophile.com/news/123107warner/">Warner Music Group's example</A> by less than a week. EMI and Universal Music Group began the stampede earlier in the year, pioneering DRM-free downloads with <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/100107amazon/">Amazon.com</A>, among other partners.
Wadia Announces Launch of iPod Dock with S/PDIF Output
Wadia Digital, Inc. announced that it will debut the $349 iTransport iPod dock in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) January 7, 2008. Certified by Apple as "Made for iPod®," the iTransport bypasses the iPod's internal D/A conversion to output an S/PDIF signal, "providing CD-quality resolution from full-resolution from file formats such as .WAV and [Apple Lossless]."
High Ground
Sometimes, Huckleberry simply <I>has</I> to take the high ground and brood. Well, it looks like brooding, but he's not deep, that cat. He's probably thinking <I>How did I get here? How do I get down? What was that middle thing again?</I>
Helpful Bagheera
Our least trusting cat has inexplicably determined that her favorite perch in the house is <I>on</I> the heavily trafficked threshold between the kitchen and living room. She's training us to step lightly—and as far to the other side as possible.