04 / 30 / 01
The goal of Swedish company Coph
Nia is to make extremely high quality components, yet offer them at attractive pricing. Coph Nia claims that no
compromises were made in insuring the best in music reproduction. Their MC only phono stage (see right) sells for $900 and provides 60 dB of gain with extremely low noise. Separate power supplies (dual regulated) for the right and left channel are included as is mains filtering. To further insure low noise, shielded cabling inside the unit are employed. The sturdy RCA jacks are gold plated and a detachable power cord allows for those who enjoy trying special power cord solutions.
The yearly event The Home Entertainment Show (T.H.E. Show) that happens at the same time as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas during January is now called The Hone Entertainment Expo (T.H.E.
Expo). Next year's show will not be at the St. Tropez. Instead, it will be held at the Rio "All-Suites" Hotel & Casino and is said to be a "quantum leap over... previous location and light-years ahead of our competition." T.H.E. Expo has
successfully reserved 250 rooms on the top three floors of the "Ipanema Tower". Unlike the
sparse amenities of the CES' Alexis Park, the Rio provides show goes with a choice of fifteen restaurants, twelve bars, four theater/showrooms and a "show in the sky" overhead in the main casino. T.H.E. EXPO is scheduled for early January of 2002.
04 / 29 / 01
Bringing the world's first true gateway
- all purpose website for both
specialty audio manufactures and consumers is The
Home Entertainment Association (T.H.E. Association). Headed by Mike
Maloney, previous owner of Scientific Fidelity loudspeakers and now heads the
yearly T.H.E. Show in Las Vegas, manufactures will have the ability for a complete listing and making changes as necessary though Member Login and password, discuss various topics with others within the industry, etc.
T.H.E. Association will also offer all users special discounts and rebates from airfare to rental cars and more. A Global database offers business to
connect with dealers, distributors, manufacturers, suppliers and much more. An Online Marketplace will assist with everything from hardware to human resource solutions. For a small monthly fee consumers will have
the opportunity to seek out detailed information about manufactures including names, address, phone number, website address and much more.
Furthermore, a unique customizable search engine will allow consumers to seek out companies who make specific products within a
specified range. Industry individuals such as business consultants, clubs,
societies, dealers, distributor, expos/shows, association, manufacturers (and their
representatives), press, those involved with recording, retail consultant, custom installers and suppliers each have their own sections within The Home Entertainment Association website.
The major recording labels are once again in court due to their alleged unfair price-fixing of compact disc software. In a recent expected
decision, a Federal Judge has refused to dismiss the case against many major record
labels as filed by 42 US states and individual consumers in New York. Those named in the lawsuit include, but are not
limited to BMG Music, Bertelsmann Music Group Inc., Capitol Records, Inc., dba EMI Music Distribution, Virgin Records America, Inc., Priority Records, L.L.C., MTS Inc., dba Tower Records, Musicland Stores Corporation, Sony Music Entertainment, Inc., Trans World Entertainment Corporation, Universal Music Group, Inc., Universal Music & Video Distribution Corp., UMG Recordings Inc., Warner-Elektra-Atlantic Corporation, Warner Music Group, Inc., Warner Bros. Records, Inc., Atlantic Recording Corporation, Elektra Entertainment Group, Inc., and Rhino Entertainment Company.
On January 30th Enjoy
the Music.com reported on similar scrutiny by the European Commission waging a full-scale investigation targeting the
major five companies (AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann Music Group, EMI Music
Distribution, Sony Corporation of America and Universal Music and Video
Distribution). Another lawsuit filed by Lieff Babraser & Berstein, LLP in May 1995 in the Central District of California where Sony Music Entertainment, Inc., Warner Elektra Atlantic Corp., Uni Distribution Corp., Bertelsmann Music Group, Inc., and Polygram Group Distribution, Inc., was found guilty in conspiring to raise, fix and maintain artificially high prices on compact music discs in violation of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act as well as California Cartwright Act. The fine came to as much as $480 million. "The FTC estimates that U.S. consumers may have paid as much as $480 million more than they should have for CDs and other music because of these policies over the last three years," said FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky. A similar investigation is now being levied within Europe because of the same alleged price-fixing tactics by major labels.
04 / 28 / 01
PS
Audio, copying the footsteps of the critically acclaimed WattGate made by Kimber Cable, have released their new Power Port AC socket ($49.95). Claiming to improve audio and A/V system
performance, the PS Audio Power Port is said to noticeably enhance both audio and video quality to products plugged into it. The Power Port offer high electrical conductivity through a unique design that includes 15 layers of hand-polished nickel plating over machined brass. The Kimber/WattGate 381 audio
receptacle ($160), on the other hand, includes a triple-wipe design to allow the plug blade to be gripped at three separate points plus heavy-duty materials to maximize the clamping spring-rate and ensure conductivity. The contacts in the WattGate 381 also employ oxygen free copper plating to improves conductivity, electroless nickel plating to prevent the leeching of the copper through the gold layer while 24k gold plating improves conductivity and prevents corrosion.
After many trials, according to PS Audio, they discovered it would take 15 separate coats of nickel and 15 separate hand-polishing operations to achieve the desired results. The Power Port is a certified Hospital Grade outlet, which means its contacts have a grip of steel and maintain full tension on all male plugs. The ground is also of the isolated variety so that a separate ground can be used. Furthermore, the Power Port plugs separate the top and bottom receptacles so that each is isolated from the other. For example, users can use the top plug for digital components and the bottom plug for analog components, or run a 15-amp circuit on the bottom plug and a 20-amp circuit on the top plug.
The Recording Academy (NARAS) and
MusiCares have
allotted $35,000 in grants to New Orleans Musicians' Clinic to aid their dental program and its Musicians' Glaucoma
Clinic. As Enjoy the Music.com™ are members of the Recording Academy and active supporters of the MusiCares Foundation, we are proud to know efforts are being made to assist musicians. In fact this is the
14th year the Academy has provided funding for various projects in support of music research. "This is a win-win situation for both organizations," said Recording Academy and MusiCares Foundation President/CEO Michael Greene. "The grant will allow us to extend MusiCares' health and wellness services to those in the New Orleans music community who are in critical need."
04 / 27 / 01
Moth Audio has introduced
their new Cicada loudspeakers using custom drivers. The drive units are specially developed
by Moth Audio based on the
mechanical dimensions of the popular Lowther design yet with some key
differences. While it physically can be taken apart like a Lowther for those
who may opt for the Lowther cone, the total Q of the Moth Audio driver is 0.6 versus
0.2 of the Lowther. This is claimed by Moth Audio to allow for better lower
frequency extension in a smaller box while sacrificing about 6dB of efficiency.
Moth Audio claims there is no nasty peak at 2kHz and 10kHz like many Lowthers driver
seem to suffer from.
Two versions of the Cicada are available. The black version employs a
"truck bed" industrial finish while the special deep satin burgundy
color with black glossy base uses special high-density MDF with further
treatments to dampen the internal enclosure. Pricing is $650 per pair for
either finish.
Specifications:
Binding Posts: four-way
Base: Tip Toe
Sensitivity: 94db
Nominal impedance: 12ohms
Useable Range: 60Hz-18kHz
Dimensions: 13"W x 12"D x 41"H
Weight: 40 lbs.
Moth
Audio has also announced their new S45 stereo amplifier ($1,395 not including output tubes). Producing two watts using the
type 45 tube or five using the Sovtek 2A3 output tube, the amplifier features adjustable bias and is a zero feedback design.
Computer audio chip manufacture Cirrus Logic has
acquired Peak Audio who are one of the audio industry's leading technology company dedicated to developing technologies and products for professional
audio. Cirrus Logic hopes to allow for full integration of home audio within every room within the house. Peak Audio commands approximately 80% of the commercial audio network and installed-sound audio markets and Cirrus Logic is hoping to continue this industry dominance through offering more flexibility, integration and ease of use. In fact Peak Audio's products are used in many
world-renown venues including the United States Senate Chamber, the Sydney Opera House, Stadium Australia (site of the recent Olympics), Wembley Stadium, Skywalker Ranch, and many of the world's largest theme parks. "We see a strong future in networked entertainment solutions," said David D. French, Cirrus Logic's president and chief executive officer. "According to research firm In-Stat, the digital home network market is expected to grow from five million to more than 27 million digitally networked homes worldwide by 2004. This acquisition creates a great opportunity to develop cost-effective, networked entertainment solutions based on our combined leadership positions."
Bowing to threats from the music industry, a Princeton professor decided to not present his scientific paper detailing various methods of cracking digital watermarks as used within the DVD-Audio
platform. On April 9, 20001, the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) Foundation sent a letter to professor Edward Felten of Princeton threatening legal reprisals if he released data on breaking various secure digital audio technologies. Professor Felten has issued a formal statement at a Pittsburgh
conference yesterday stating his concerns about suffering legal reprisals if he released his paper, yet he is also looking for ways to legally and safely present his paper on the future.
04 / 26 / 01
Electro-Harmonix
has added the 6550EH to their EH line of "ultra-premium" vacuum
tubes ($15.80 each, $17.50 each matched). The 6550EH delivers very high power and linearity with a 42 watt plate dissipation in tetrode operation (44
watts in triode). Features of the 6550EH include:
- Ruggedized screen
construction
- Phosphor bronze side rods for grid and screen
triple mica supports
- Unique "four pillar" nickel steel side rod mica supports
- Tung-Sol style "coke bottle" glass
- Heavier plate material and more surface area for increased cooling
- A new cathode coating formulation
- Can substitute KT88 tubes
Red Trumpet has hired longtime music lover John
Miller, formerly with Acoustic Sounds, as their new Director of Acquisitions and Inventory Control. John has also previously been the production manager at audiophile remastering label Classic Records in Los Angeles and oversaw quality control on LPs, labels and covers.
Audioscience
and Broadcast Software International (BSI)
have created two soundcards that play "quadruple MP3 files" without a software
CODEC. The ASI4344 and the ASI4346, will be available on May 1, 2001, from BSI and decompress audio files on their own built-in hardware. Therefore the processor is not using its time to decompress the files and are said to eliminate skipping and slowness that may plague some devices that use the file format. "Our corporate mission is to respond to customer requests. AudioScience has a record of leadership in the digital audio market. When BSI and AudioScience formed the concept of combining our hardware with MP3 technology it made sense for both of us," says AudioScience President Richard Gross. Meanwhile Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands has reached a preliminary agreement to acquire Veon Ltd. who are a leading provider of interactive broadband content products and services. Veon Ltd. was rated Red Herring's "Top 50 Private Companies in the Digital Universe" and is amongst Electronic Media's "Top 10 Companies to Watch."
"This acquisition will strengthen Philips' lead in the emerging market of MPEG-4 delivery to various consumer platforms, including PCs, Set-Top-Boxes, PDAs, and mobile devices," said Ahmad Ouri, vice president and general manager of Philips MP4Net. "Veon's capabilities will enable us to extend our product offering to cover far more of the content production and delivery chain, as well as strengthen Philips' vision of the Internet as a broad, rich and full-fledged multimedia e-commerce medium." Ahmad Ouri of Philips MP4Net added, "Veon's products and technology, which include user interaction and behavior tracking, will open a wide range of possibilities for service providers in generating incremental revenues."
04 / 23 / 01
Online music delivery is heating up as Napster is now trying to use new "fingerprinting" technology to insure it abides by only having legal music on their
website. This new technology invented by Relatable called "TRM" fingerprinting technology is
said to extract sonic signatures from the first thirty seconds of an uncompressed audio file. Then a small data packet is created from then which is called a "fingerprint". As any good hacker will tell you, it is only a matter of a few days while this new technology will be defeated and once again music will
reign supreme and free from tracking, tracing and automated removal by Napster's system. Of course Napster is not the only game in town...
RioPort is currently working the kinks out of their new secure music
delivery system that will bring music to audio players and cellular phones. RioPort claims this new system will prevent the illegal redistribution of purchased
content over the internet because the data is delivered
directly to various devices (players/cellular phones/etc). To top this off, the once rogue online file swapping website Scour is now going legit!
CenterSpan Communications who recently bought the
almost defunct Scour service is providing message boards for users to express their opinions, both likes and dislikes, so that they can better gear the new legitimate Scour
service to customers. This includes conducting online surveys as well. At this point in time Scour in offering Beta testing of their new
music service that is planed for launching shortly.
04 / 20 / 01
Apple Computers Inc. has officially announced shipping the five millionth iMac
computer. Meanwhile Apple has recently posted a net profit of $43 million
in the fiscal second quarter report.
"Simply put, the iMac has redefined the consumer and education computer, ushering in several industry firsts including USB, FireWire, desktop movies, wireless networking, quiet fan-less operation and world-class design," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "I look forward to shipping our ten millionth iMac in a few years."
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported recorded music sales worldwide have dropped 1.3% while total shipments were down 1.2% in a global marketplace
totaling $36.9 billion. Looking to proclaim a reason for this decline, the IFPI quickly pointed to free music offered online as the cause for the downturn. CD singles sales were
especially hit hard with a 39% decline in sales. Increased sales of illegal CD-R
copies of music in France, Germany and Italy also are having an affect on the bottom line.
Meanwhile CD albums grew by 2.5% to 2.5 billion units, with a strong increase in Europe (5.1%).
04 / 19 / 01
Sony Music and Midbar Tech Ltd. are now proclaiming
success with protecting CDs using Midbar's Cactus Data Shield. Midbar's technology is claimed to
stop the ability to copy CDs or allow the music to be compressed into the .mp3
format. While various player incompatibilities and a subsequent recall of discs using the same type of technology in a Germany-released title by BMG music last year, further fine tuning of the technology and the recent Sony release have Sony proclaiming
success. The Sony music CDs were released in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in late 2000 and Sony claims that there were no
incompatibilities as experienced by BMG's earlier release using Midbar's technology. "Our consumers did not feel that the protection limited their experience. We didn't receive any complaints and the feedback from our sales force was only positive," Zbynek Knobloch, managing director of Sony Music said. Midbar CEO Ran Alcalay added that the technology did not face compatibility issues even with older CD players.
The Academy Advancing High Performance Audio & Video
(AAHPAV) seems to have been docile for the past few years or so now appear to
have completely disappeared. The AAHPAV is known for their "Golden Note Award" where their members consistently look as
though they voted for other favored members. Due a variety of
situations, the AAHPAV has been suffering over the years. Their website
registration expired on February 12, 2001 without a mere $30 or so to renew it
and is now completely offline. This may not be a great loss as the website
itself, when available earlier this year, apparently suffered from a lack of
updating for approximately a year. Furthermore, calling the AAHPAV yesterday
has resulted in hearing a recording that the telephone number is disconnected.
Three years ago the AAHPAV did offer various seminars at a consumer show and
then continued with the program the following year. Sadly, the AAHPAV never
became an influential presence within the electronics industry nor a veritable
voice representing the high-end to congress or other important public venues as the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is today. This situation leaves
no single voice for the high-end, though it could be argued that the AAHPAV
might not have ever truly represented the high-end in a meaningful and productive way
to help progress the visibility of the industry as a whole. Creative Director
of Enjoy the Music.com, Steven R. Rochlin, appears to be the only press
member to have attended all the excellent AAHPAV seminars both years and have
earned a Masters Degree.
04 / 18 / 01
Classic Records has remastered and released David Crosby's
If I Could Only Remember My Name on 180 gram vinyl. Riding on the success of Crosby Stills and Nash (CSN), David Crosby started recorded his first solo album in November of 1970 at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco.
Now he finds himself thirty years later with Stephen Barncard, the original recordist/mixer, at Bernie Grundman Mastering to revisit an audiophile favorite. Using the 30 ips 1/4" master tapes, the job of remastering to vinyl began. While the original Atlantic pressing seemed a bit reduced in the frequency extremes according to
Classic Records, the original pressing seems to have been filtered (especially in the low frequency leaving it sounding bright by comparison with the original tape).
Songs on this album include:
1. Music Is Love
2. Cowboy Movie
3. Tamalpais High (At About 3)
4. Laughing
5. What Are Their Names
6. Traction In The Rain
7. Song With No Words (Tree With No Leaves)
8. Orleans
9. I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here
Representing the record labels and not
musical artists, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has proposed a fee of $0.004 per streamed track over the
internet. This is 28 times higher than $0.0015 that is offered by webcasters. The U.S. Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel recently met with various artist unions, record labels and webcasters in hopes of finding a
middle ground for royalty rates with hopes an agreement can be achieved soon. Attorney Ken Steinthal, who represents MTVi, RealNetworks and others feels the same fee on $0.0022 per listening hour as currently paid to publishers by terrestrial broadcasters would be fair. The crux in the matter is that once the fees are agreed upon, webcasters would than need to retroactively pay for fees dating back to October of 1998.
04 / 17 / 01
Joey Ramone,
lead singer of the band The Ramones passed away this past Sunday at age 49 from a bout with lymphatic cancer. Many consider
Joey a genius who helped to found the punk music scene. His music has been been enjoyed by millions while also being a positive influence to many musicians. "I wish I could have met him and told him what a huge influence he had on my life, and what an inspiration his music was, and what a genius he really was," Blink-182 singer/bassist Mark Hoppus said. "The Ramones came out at a time when music wasn't being done like that, and they came out with three-chord pop-punk just played exactly the way they wanted it to be. Without the Ramones, there wouldn't have been three generations of great punk-rock music, and there certainly wouldn't have been a Blink-182." Hilly Kristal who owns the very
influential club CBGB in New York City said "Joey lived a good life, and he gave back as much as he could. He tried to help a lot of new bands. He would throw his birthday parties and have them play, and he would get up and sing with them." The world has lost a true musical legend.
Manufacturer-to-dealer sales of video products are up two percent to 13.6 million units during the first quarter of
2001, according to figures released today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
Sales of DVD players increased by 193% to 1.2 million units sold in March
2001. First quarter 2001 DVD sales now reach 2.3 million units. "These first quarter numbers prove that consumers are embracing the digital transition," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA. "We should continue to expect growth in digital product sales as consumers continue to realize the high-quality performance benefits over analog, such as superior audio and video quality, associated with the digital experience."
Looking to expand their online music presence, the House of Blues is broadening their portfolio to include
HOBPM.com, a new music entertainment website featuring dance and electronica
music. The House of Blues and Sonicnet have teamed up to provide both music downloads and streaming video of live performances by various musical artists.
IBM and Classic FM, Britain's most popular national classical music radio station, have announced their choice for Jutel's RadioMan integrated with IBM technology for broadcast content management
solution. While Classic FM was the first UK broadcaster to be fully digital, the addition of RadioMan will enable Classic FM to enhance its digital broadcasting services through the use of RadioMan's program associated data and Web functionality. RadioMan is a scalable system that integrates and controls the different tasks involved in the management of radio stations including scheduling and program planning, content production, and versioning and broadcasting of programs for multiple new media channels. By using RadioMan, Classic FM hopes to integrate its output across digital radio and new media platforms to provide listeners with increased access to program data.
04 / 16 / 01
Longtime turntable manufacture Oracle
Audio is now selling their Turntable Universal Maintenance Kit ($150). This kit will help current owners of Oracle's Mark I, II, II, IV or V to insure their record playing device is operating at its optimum level. The kit includes three rubber spaces, a drive belt, special bearing oil, three spring
calibration springs, a suspension gauge and much more. New felt suspension dampeners and sorbothane dampers insure proper operation to reduce outside vibrations from harming the critical needle/vinyl interaction.
04 / 13 / 01
Online streaming music retailer Liquid Audio has been awarded a U.S. patent (#6,209,094) for their technique in embedding watermark data into digital music files. The watermark is a part of Liquid Audio's Digital Rights Management (DRM) solution in hopes to protect the copyright owners music from being pirated without recourse.
Liquid Audio is claiming that while the watermark is mixed in with the audio signal, that the watermark does so "without compromising audio
quality". Who are these "experts" that are claiming the
watermarking technology to be inaudible? Inquiring minds want to know.
Furthermore, Liquid Audio is also claiming that their new watermarking technology "cannot be removed from the audio without destroying the music, and imperceptible, cannot be heard by the music listener".
04 / 12 / 01
Acoustic
Energy's new Aego series comprises of an active subwoofer module for bass plus small
satellites and a center channel module for the upper frequencies. Audio source equipment can be hooked up via
RCA jacks or a stereo mini-jack located on the rear of subwoofer unit. A volume control is
included on the front top of the subwoofer for easy access to adjust the sound output. For those with existing stereo units looking to employ the Aego series loudspeakers, the Aego can be used through the existing amplifier in a pre-existing audio system. The Aego2 contains four channels of amplification as standard - left, right, subwoofer and an optional center channel for use with the Aego3 and Aego5 systems. The Aego2 consists of a single subwoofer and two
satellites while the Aego3 offers a complete six-channel home cinema/audio system including five Aego satellite speakers
(center channel plus two surrounds) plus a high quality standalone Dolby Digital/DTS processor with integrated two-channel amplifier. The top-range Aego5 combine the Aego2 and Aego3 packages for a single system complete solution for a multi-channel audio system. Finishes include black for the subwoofer and textured black satellites with silver/grey grilles. The white series includes a white subwoofer with textured white satellites that have silver/grey grilles.
04 / 11 / 01
Yesterday cable TV music channel VH1
announced their intentions to sell music CDs via the internet from their VH1
"Hear Music First"
service. Adding to the competition with other such online music vendors as CDNow, VH1 will be selling various music titles weeks before they are available from brick and mortar music outlets. Stevie Nicks will
be the very first musical artist to sell her May 1 release Trouble in
Shangri-La weeks before it is available at stores. VH1's plans are close to that of what my.mp3.com
is offering. Specifically, the music can be purchased online and immediately listened
to via the internet. Cover art and liner notes can also be accessed online
immediately after purchasing the CD. Once the CD is available in stores, then the CD will arrive in the buyer's home.
"Hear Music First will be the best way for music fans to get songs their
friends can't get in advance of a CD's release, unless your friends are smart enough to buy it themselves" said Fred Graver, general manager of VH1 Interactive group. "Everybody in the world is using (the Internet), and our audience is right in there with the rest of them by telling us, we want to get our music digitally."
Meanwhile companies like CD Warehouse who have 309 brick and mortar stores plus online e-commerce have officially been delisted from the NASDAQ as their year 2000 loss increased approximately eight-fold to $8.6 million causing them to shut down their website. Looks like a dog eat dog in the music CD sales area on the internet... but you already knew that.
Audiophile reissue label
Classic Records has released Led Zeppelin III and
IV. Following on the heels of releasing Led Zeppelin's first and second
albums that have received critical acclaim worldwide, the bands third LP features legendary songs such as the "Immigrant Song", "Since I’ve Been Loving You" and eight other songs.
Led Zeppelin IV was originally recorded at both Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and also at Island Studios in London. While the whole album is
incredible in this reporter's opinion, all time great songs like "Stairway To Heaven", "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll" and "Going To California"
are joined by four other great songs. Retail price for these 180 gram vinyl
releases is $30 each. A must have for any true rock n' roller and
music lover. And she's
buying a stairway to heaven...
04 / 10 / 01
In what may seem like the ultimate victory by MP3.com, jurors realize they left out a key zero in the legal award to TVT Records. With a hope to be awarded $8.5 million from MP3.com, TVT Records in their recent legal victory only received a
judgment for $300,000 for various copyright and other infringements. With the final verdict handed out on Friday, Judge Jed Rakoff of Federal District Court in Manhattan asked for the jurors for a private session individually on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the award as two jurors informed the court of the key
mathematical error that would turn the $300,000 award into a $3,000,000 award. "This is an unusual turn of
events" said Judge Jed Rakoff. It may be a few weeks before the true outcome and financial award of this legal battle is determined.
The
SoundField MKV microphone is a single solution for those looking for true 5.1 channel recording from a single point-source using minimalist mic'ing
technique. A special capsule array and electronic processor are used to achieve a complete 3D soundfield recording. The microphone's tetrahedral capsule array is combined with the SoundField's own processor/pre-amplifier to capture sound events in 3D from a single point in space and offer a phase accurate account of the event. This greatly aids recording engineers who are hoping to naturally record live music events for surround
sound versus using multiple microphone techniques and then mixing the many
channels together hoping for good phase and proper mixing/mastering.
04 / 09 / 01
Tube manufactures Electro-Harmonix
now offers their new 6L6EH as their latest addition to the EH line of premium vacuum
tubes. Sold as singles for $19.40 each or Platinum Matched at $21.40 each,
these tubes are said to be modeled after the vintage RCA 6L6GC "Blackplate".
The Electro-Harmonix 6L6EH features larger plate dimensions and "improved" grid structure for increased power handling capabilities.
Furthermore, a ruggedized screen construction, new tri-laminate plate material, phosphor bronze side rods, and mica spacers with metal springs
(claimed to eliminate tube rattle and microphonics) are other features of this
new tube.
DARTECH, Inc. makers of
various software for high-quality audio restoration and recording, have
released version 4.1 of the CD-Recorder software. Accommodating ever more audio formats,
CD-Recorder 4.1 software contains four specific sub-programs for making
audio CDs. New features include more support for compressed file formats, additional
tools to make CD burning faster with less risk for errors, and tools to improve the
quality of sounds recorded on custom audio CDs. Version 4.1 of DART CD-Recorder introduces:
· Support for Microsoft Windows Media™ format
(high compression WMA files);
· An ENCODE command that makes file conversion easier;
· Improved MP3 DECODER that is cleaner and easier to use;
· Proprietary PRODUCER tools that manipulate MP3 files; and
· Expanded UNPACK function to separate long MP3 files
into discrete tracks.
· JOLIET support to burn MP3, WAV, and WMA to CD-ROM
· COMPARATIVE NORMALIZE which allows automatic volume
setting, selectable, across all files on a disc, as well as
· MULTI-SESSION CD writing ability with a Close CD option.
· Fast, automatic conversion to standard Compact
Disc Audio (Redbook) audio for all sound file formats.
· CD-Text burns audio discs for the newest players'
CD-Text display.
· BURN-Proof assures successful recording.
· Over-Burn, takes disc capacity to the max.
· On the fly MP3 burning, gets you to music you
can enjoy faster.
· Rip and burn speed controls for quality audio.
· Gap time control sets time between tracks.
· Rip and Burn CD+G for Karaoke machines (with upgrade to
DART Karaoke Studio CD+G)
Looks like Cello owners may not be able to have their
equipment repaired for free within the warranty period, as the company has gone out of
business, yet repairs are available. Please see the letter we received below:
New Hi End Audio Company VIOLA AUDIO LABS
ANTHONY DI SALVO
VIOLA AUDIO LABS
315 PECK STREET
NEW HAVEN, CT 06513
T: 203.772.0435
F:203.772.0569
E-MAIL: anthony.disalvo@violalabs.com
Viola Audio Labs , will offer some non-warranty repair of Cello products.
Viola Audio Labs will introduce future products that now are designing from former engineers of Cello products, Tom Colangelo and Paul Jayson, they will offer a new "super power amp" , reference preamplifier and a reference speaker system between summer and New Years .
They also already have announce that module upgrades for the Cello Audio Suite Pre-Amplifier that will be available after May 1st of this year.
1) The output upgrade (for the P301) :
- replacement of the non-inverting main out amplifier OTA-5s. (one per channel). This will produce the most significant improvement. They recommend this as the first (most important) upgrade.
-For best sound we would suggest an additional replacement of the inverting main outputs on the P301.
Its recommend this as the third upgrade.
2) The line input upgrade (for P200 or P201)
- the replacement of the OTA-3s (one per channel). They recommend this as the second upgrade.
3) The P100 Phono can also be upgraded with a pair of OTA-3Bs
They have set a MSRP of US$950/pr for the OTA-5Bs; and US$990/pr for the
OTA-3Bs.
Its great news for Cello products owners since the new company "Matthew James LLG" , managed by Jim McCullough's , that has retained Cello, Ltd.'s old phone and fax numbers: (203) 867-4008 and (203) 867-4014. The new company number is contact is (203) 865-1237; home office number is (860) 349-5999 , e-mail:
jimm@matthew-james.net, this company take over the Cello Technologies Inc., will never continuo the Cello sound characteristics previously design by legendary Mark Levinson, Tom Colangelo and Paul
Jayson.
For those that loved CELLO products there is only two choices "RED ROSE MUSIC & VIOLA AUDIO LABS" , this two company are highly recommended by Mark Levinson.
Best Regards,
Adriano Wing
04 / 06 / 01
The Home Entertainment 2001 Show held from May
11th to the 13th will feature a Saturday night concert by Grammy Award winner blues artist Keb’
Mo’. Held at the Hilton New York & Towers, The Home Entertainment 2001 Show will have manufactures of audio and video gear in various suites showcasing their products. Also during the show will be various seminars and other musical
performances. Complete details coming soon on the Enjoy the Music.com™ The Home
Entertainment 2001 Show pre-show coverage.
Tickets for the show are $25 for a one day pass or $35 for the complete three day event. A $4.00 discount per ticket is available to those who
pre-register by clicking here
or by calling (800) 830-3976, ext. 105. Only those with the three day pass are
eligible to attend the Keb’ Mo’ concert.
Universal Music Group (UMG) may soon acquire EMusic for $24.8 million
U.S. (57 cents a share). Because EMusic's shares have dropped below the required level to keep its
listing on NASDAQ, it may soon be dropped from the listing service. No specifics have been given on the deal.
04 / 05 / 01
After recently buying American high-end magazine
Stereophile as part of the Peterson acquisition for $1.2 billion in 1997, Emap PLC hired a new chief financial officer
Keith Marriott early this year to help improve the bottom line. Just a few short months after his hiring, it now seems that
Emap has been considering selling off their entire Emap USA division
(which includes Stereophile magazine). While Emap seems to be mulling over
whether to sell off their entire US division, many reports seem to suggest they
would wind up selling it for a financial loss. More to the point, the Financial Times
has reported that Emap's group management appear to be extremely
enthusiastic with selling only the Petersen division (of which Stereophile is a part). Furthermore, CEO
of Emap's USA division Kevin Hand may wind up losing his job due to the failure of
Emap USA's recent acquisitions.
No word on who exactly might buy the Peterson division nor a clear answer as to
the future of magazines under the Peterson sector. Meanwhile Emap PLC stock
has been falling to lows not seen in many years (see chart above showing their
March 5th to April 4th stock performance).
Popular web-head site Shockrave,
a feature website from Macromedia and their Shockwave internet browser
plug-in, shows that their music plus video media is going strong with popular
music yet also finds that
rockers have a say, too, in who really is King of the internet
"airwaves". Below shows the top five most enjoyed selections with
veteran psychedelic rockers Pink Floyd ranking second behind pop star Britney
Spears. Meanwhile Madonna is showing a strong presence in 4th
place with her recent
song that was featured as the opening song at the 43rd
Annual Grammy Awards titled "Music". And the list is:
1. Britney Spears "Oops" MixMaker
2. Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here"
3. PhotoJam
4. Madonna "Music"
5. N'Sync "Bye Bye Bye" MixMaker
The Pink Floyd
piece not only plays a unique audio mix of various songs from their Wish You Were Here album, it also has new
video to go along with it! The Shockwave animation is quite good and goes well
with the music. Pink Floyd fans are flocking by the tens of thousands to see this new music video. You can see and hear it by
clicking here. Welcome my son. Welcome to the machine...
The National Committee on Information Technology Standards (NCITS) rejected a proposal to enact a
standard that would allow copy-control systems for Flash memory, IBM microdrives and and recordable DVD discs. This new controversial system called Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) would give owners of content the ability to control if their content could be copied on to various storage media devices.
04 / 04 / 01
Part of Exposure Electronics
Ltd.'s new 2010 line, the Exposure 2010 stereo power amplifier produces 75 watts per channel into eight ohms and can be switched into a 150 watt mono-block amplifier capable of delivering 24 amps. The overspecificed large high current toroidal transformer is combined with specially developed high current capability power supply capacitors. All inputs and outputs are gold plated while an output protection circuit protects the
amplifier in case of an accidental short circuit. A three year guarantee is included. Seen here is standard finish, titanium face plate finish is also available.
As online music heats up, RioPort will soon make approximately 100 secure digital music downloadable songs from Warner Music
Group (WMG). This is added to their previous deals with Artemis Records, House of Blues, Sonicnet, MTV.com and VH1 to sell music
online. Meanwhile the man whose name, or lack thereof changes like the tide,
Prince once criticized Napster has now made a deal to have his unreleased track titled "The Work - Pt. 1" available on Napster April 6th. This song will be part of Princes upcoming album titled
The Rainbow Children. Of course the major labels want their slice of the pie so Bertelsmann, EMI and Warner Music Group have unveiled plans for their
upcoming online music-subscription service in partnership with RealNetworks. The plot thickens!
High-Performance Audio Reviews
