High-End Audio / High Fidelity Audiophile Industry News

  
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12 / 31 / 15

Updated! Just Posted Part 5
Toronto Audio Video Entertainment Show Report -- TAVES 2015
See all the great high-end audio gear within our extensive TAVES 2015 report!

We've Updated High-End Audio's Official CES 2016 Press Center
We've just added more great press releases within our CES 2016 Press Center!

12 / 30 / 15

Gacenote Dynamic EQ Automatically Equalizes Songs
Gracenote Dynamic EQ is the first company to follow Steven R. Rochlin, Creative Director of Enjoy the Music.com, concept to have special custom equalization take effect per song. Gracenote MusicID is the standard for music recognition in the car, powering the music experience in 65 million vehicles and counting. With MusicID and Dynamic EQ, drivers and passengers can control all of their favorite jams, from any device, while keeping their eyes on the road. When a driver listens to a song, Gracenote Dynamic EQ ensures the best sound quality per preset parameters. Gracenote's new Dynamic EQ is said to be like having your own personal audiophile tweaking your car's audio system for every song you play. Gracenote MusicID works with CDs to recognizes the disc and delivers the correct Artist, Album and Track Names, as well as Cover Art to the dashboard display. In combination with Dynamic EQ music enthusiasts can enjoy their music to a higher level. "Tuning an EQ can be incredibly complicated for the average music fan and virtually impossible for drivers who have to keep both eyes focused on the road," said Brian Hamilton, General Manager of Gracenote Automotive. "The introduction of Gracenote Dynamic EQ marks the first time that Gracenote, or any other company, has used track level descriptive metadata to drive the quality of the musical experience. The benefit for automakers is far and wide, helping them maximize the sound experience for high-end systems in luxury vehicles, as well as making audio systems in sub-compacts shine." This new system should begin appearing within 2018 automobiles.

High-End Audio's Official CES 2016 Press Center By Enjoy the Music.com
Come see the many new audiophile products announced during CES 2016!

Last Chance To Enter Enjoy the Music.com's Spin-Clean Contest!
Win A Spin-Clean Record Washer MKII – 40th Anniversary "Retro" Unit
Enjoy the Music.com and Spin-Clean are giving away a very special Spin-Clean Record Washer MKII – 40th Anniversary "Retro" Unit! The Spin-Clean story began in Chicago around 1974 when Fidelitone Inc., a manufacturer that sold record needles and other record accessories to retailers, created a record cleaning device called " Spin 'n Clean." The Spin-Clean Record Washer Mark II's real effectiveness comes from its ability to clean both sides of any record simultaneously without using your turntable as part of the process. Your albums and singles will last longer and sound better than ever, while your turntable and stylus are saved from needless wear and tear. Spin-Clean's special washer fluid formula encapsulates the dirt that comes off the record from deep within the record grooves and sinks it to the bottom of the washer basin. Learn more and enter our Spin-Clean Record Washer II contest here.

Industry News 15 Years Ago
The Beatles 1 Compilation Sells 3.36 Million Albums Since Release
Proving The Beatles are still alive and well in the hearts and souls of music lovers, Capitol Records release of The Beatles 1 album has sold 3.36 million albums since it was release on November 21^st according to Soundscan. This compilation of 30 year old recordings shows that in the old days there were bands that were truly capable of writing quality music having long-lasting love affairs with listeners. The Beatles 1 has flown past the sales of the old Anthology release Volumes 2 and 3 series. The Beatles 1 will soon to pass Volume 1 whose sales are at 3.58 million to date. The new Backstreet Boys album is over a quarter million albums behind The Beatles 1 release. Fourth quarter sales of music in general is very close to last year's totals showing that the likes of Napster might not be having as great an affect as the major labels would like us to think. Still, major labels are having a serious problem finding bands that can come close to the phenom of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the like.

12 / 27 / 15

Pass Labs Reference Quality Dual Mono Design Xs Phono Preamplifier
Pass Labs is now delivering their reference quality Xs Phono Preamplifier ($45,000) dual-chassis design. Pass Labs' Xs Phono Preamplifier dual-chassis ensures the highest of quality with completely dual-mono phono stage. This includes the implementation of an outboard power supply, which is entirely dual-mono as well. Designed and built without consideration of expense, Pass Labs' engineers wanted to build the best-sounding phono stage they possibly could. Developed over the course of over two years, Pass Labs' design team aimed at creating a new reference for what is possible in the demanding discipline of phono-cartridge pre-amplification, where the signals requiring amplification and RIAA compensation are as small as millionths of a Volt. Careful attention to shielding results in lower noise, while a highly accurate RIAA compensation stage is built with custom-made capacitors and shock-mounted, gold-clad custom ceramic circuit boards designed for RF applications. "We tend to do well with products that we want for ourselves" says lead designer Wayne Colburn. "Some of it is purely for us to have a reference.... It's a synergy of all the parts." After extensive listening tests it revealed there was no method of switching among three pairs of inputs that did not degrade the sound when compared to direct connections. Confronted with this challenge, Pass Labs' design team decided that each of the Xs Phono three pairs of inputs had to have its own separate, directly connected stereo phono stage. There are no switches or relays in the signal paths to the hugely important first amplification stages. The result is that the Xs Phono (including its dual-mono power supply) contains 13 circuit boards. The Xs Phono is, in effect, three separate state-of-the-art stereo phono stages housed within a single chassis. Says Colburn, "It seems crazy, but... the fact of the matter was, it sounded best that way. If you want to do the best you can, that is the way to do it. That feature accounts for a large portion of the Xs Phono's price."

12 / 26 / 15

Becoming Audiophiles Despite Themselves?
Roger Skoff goes to China and tells us what he saw.
Article By Roget Skoff

Chisto Offers VIP Vinyl Cleaning Gift Set Within Special Brazilwood Case
Chisto, a worldwide leader in audio/video cosmetics, finalized its premium vinyl care line Easy Groove Concentrate with two professional pre-wash products Enzycaster and Extreme (€39, €59.90 and €39 respectively). Easy Groove Concentrate makes 1 liter of most effective antistatic vinyl records cleaning solution. Chisto has revised the formula as the chemical industry offers new components. You simply mix 100 ml of Easy Groove Concentrate with 0.9 liter of distilled water. Wait for some minutes to dissolve properly and then use it in accordance with your vacuum record cleaner manual. You can also use this cleaner with the supplied sprayer for manual applications. Chisto's Easy Groove includes a very effective antistatic agent that is beneficial for proper vinyl records cleaning. It cleans all types of records from modern LPs to 78 RPM shellacs. It is a quick and convenient way to keep your records at its best and prolong lifespan of your cartridge. Chisto's Enzycaster is enzyme pre-wash concentrate that makes 1 liter of solution. Extra dirty records could be used or those that have been stored in dusty places for decades. They need a special treatment as a pre-wash before your average cleaning procedure. Enzymes is an effective and safe biodegradable formulation as a pre-wash before normal vinyl LP cleaning. Extreme is ultra effective and comes ready to use as a spray pre-wash that took Chisto almost two years to develop. Aimed ofor use by professionals who need ultimate solution for expensive records, Extreme is said to be a quick and powerful solution for vinyl LP cleaning. As a real innovator in the industry, Chisto installed NFC chips in all Easy Groove 2016 products' boxes that link to video lessons "How to clean records professional way". Chisto also prepared a VIP gift set for all four Easy Groove vinyl care products. This gift set is presented within a beautiful Brazilwood storage case that keep the products beautifully displayed.

12 / 25 / 15

Legacy Audio's New Class D Powerblock² Dual Mono Amplifier
Legacy Audio just sent us info on their new Powerbloc² ($1600) dual mono stereo amplifier that produces 325 watts per channel @ 8 Ohms. With an outstanding 650 watts per channel @ 4 ohms, the new Legacy Powerbloc² meets Hi-Res Audio standards with a very wide frequency response from 1.5Hz to 70kHz. Featuring the latest high efficiency Class D ICEpower design, the Powerbloc² features short circuit protection and uses far less power than Class A and other designs. With up to 30 Amperes of peak current available per channel, the cool running design can drive a wide range of loudspeaker loads. The Powerbloc² can be used in pairs with Legacy Audio's DSP based processors / crossovers, such as the Wavelaunch or Wavelet, to raise an audio system's performance to a more accurate level. Inputs include both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR, with output being via pairs of gold plated safety approved five-way binding posts. Damping factor is 1000 < 1kHz, voltage gain is 27.4dB and overall dynamic range is 117dB. Total harmonic distortion is a very low 0.005% at rated output and total intermodulation distortion is 0.0045% at rated output. Dimensions of the Legacy Audio Powerbloc² are 3" x 17" x 14" (HxWxD) and it weighs 20 lbs.

Industry News 15 Years Ago
Broadband Internet Allows For CD Quality Music Streaming
As we here at Enjoy the Music.com are the high-end audio industry's first source to discuss broadband Internet for mainstream music delivery (1.5mbs+ versus the usual 33.6kbs of the average user), "CD Quality" music can easily be delivered on-demand to users. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has been announcing the Integrated Home Systems Division (IHS) with the Communication and Information Technology Products Division (CITP) partnership. Under the new name of Home Networks and Information Technology Division (HNIT), the mission is to aid is consumer adoption of home networks as the market rapidly develops. Companies like PANJA (as seen in our Streaming Media East 2000 show report) and X-10 will be just two of the many companies who have long been planning home networking and making content delivery systems. At the upcoming CES 2001 there will be many displays of new units taking advantage of broadband and home networking technology. You can expect Enjoy the Music.com to be there reporting on the future of home entertainment. Fast-forwarding to December 2015, there are nearly 200 show reports and many thousands of Industry News updates on this site. Enjoy the Music.com is the industry's only truly open-source site to widely promote the high-end audio industry as we are partners with virtually all popular English language audiophile print publications. We look forward to Hi-Res Audio being available to music enthusiasts worldwide via online streaming services and for purchase during 2016. We welcome new companies entering the market and current music services upgrading to higher resolution audio formats.

12 / 24 / 15

Columbia Record Club Music Service To Re-Launch In 2016
Remember the Columbia Record Club? Well, they about to re-launch and offer vinyl LPs! The Columbia Record Club began life in 1955 by CBS/Columbia Records. This was more of a trial to see if the market of direct-mail music delivery would be successful. They would tease you with a certain number of free records for joining provided you promised to buy more in a certain period of time. To keep brick-and-mortar retailers happy, many of the new titles were not available to club members and at one point the company gave a 20% commission to retailers who recruited club members. The mail order music club grew over the years and eventually included cassette, 8-track tape, CD and movies on DVD. In 2005 CBS/Columbia's competitor BMG Direct Marketing purchased Columbia House and consolidated operations. Direct Brands shut down music mail-order operations in mid-2009 yet continued to use the Columbia House brand to market videos in North America. Fast-forward to 2016 and the Columbia House Record Club will once again be offering mail order music to club members. While we're not sure if it will be another 12-fot-1 deal with the promise from members to buy some set quantity of LPs, yet it is great to see this club once again make an appearance within the industry! The more things change, the more they stay the same.

12 / 23 / 15

IIJ Will Be Offering An Online Streaming Music Service In DSD 5.6MHz
Japan-based Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ) will soon be offering their PrimeSeat, the world's first DSD-based live streaming service in Hi-Res Audio. With Naxos streaming Hi-Res Audio for many months in 24-bit/192kHz as announced here on Enjoy the Music.com's Industry News in January 2015, IIJ has chosen DSD 5.6MHz for their digital audio format. IIJ's press release says, "The conventional method of streaming service requires high-resolution audio to be download-based because of its massive volume of data. With IIJ's advanced technology, it now offers the world's first commercially available live streaming service that uses a DSD format. High-resolution audio formats-including the popular DSD and PCM systems-faithfully reproduce analog sound without compression, allowing customers to enjoy the immersive, high-quality auditory experience of a concert hall right in their homes. Aiming to create a new market for music and streaming business, IIJ has formed partnership with KORG Inc., a major Japanese manufacturer and seller of electronic musical instruments. The service platform is developed with KORG. The company also offers 'PrimeSeat' player, a dedicated application for customer's listening. With the launch of PrimeSeat, IIJ has entered the music streaming business. IIJ will develop new products and services for both individual audiophiles and content providers. Through the PrimeSeat music streaming site, individual customers can listen to original programs, concerts, and a variety of other content, available live-streaming, on-demand, and as Internet radio. Additionally, corporate customers looking to distribute their label's tracks and concerts as high-resolution audio can use the service as a platform to distribute content without the need to operate equipment in-house." While downloading the PrimeSeat audio player software is free, content fees will be a paid service in the future. Customers considering distributing content through the platform may inquire for individual estimates.

12 / 22 / 15

Enjoy the Music.com Just Posted Hi-Fi World's February 2016 Edition
Enjoy the Music.com has just added Hi-Fi World's February issue filled with excellent reviews and think pieces. This issue includes reviews of the Quad S2 standmount speakers, Alacrity Dundee 5 loudspeakers, Hi-Res Audio playersfrom Lotoo, Cayin and Colorfly, Leema Libra DAC, Cambridge CXN network player, NuForce DAC80 / STA120 amplifier, Audiolab 8300A integrated amplifier, Chord cables, Black Rhodium Aria & Athena cables, Clearaudio Absolute phonostage, Hana & EH MC cartridges and more. Within his editorial, Hi-Fi World's Noel Keywood says "...which brings me to resurgent interest in gaslight. Yes, right back at the other end of the historical spectrum, in earlier times when we padded through dark streets of technological ignorance (cough) pierced only by gaslight, boxes of cogs and wheels provided entertainment. How ironic that these contraptions should slowly re-emerge to entertain us in our living rooms once again, displacing the inert boxes invented to provide digital. I'll admit the construction that I am bemused by, from Clearaudio of Germany on p95, isn't going to be within the budget of many, especially me, but it sure as hell looks fabulous. As a counterbalance to this we also feature two super-low price moving coil cartridges from Japan, that Paul Rigby peers at on p103." You can see this special 2015 Awards issue of Hi-Fi World at this link.

12 / 21 / 15

New Metamaterial Doubles Acoustic Resolution And Focuses Audio
Duke University and North Carolina State University researchers have created a special metamaterial that manipulates acoustic waves. The term metamaterials is a way to define an engineered product that is not naturally occurring. Benefits of this new acoustic metamaterial include a doubling of the acoustic images resolution, including the ability to focus acoustic waves and control sound dispersion. This metamaterial is made with aluminum and paper and may be used in medical diagnostics and testing the structural integrity of products. According to Science X network, "In this case, the structural design of the metamaterial gives it qualities that make it a "hyperbolic" metamaterial. This means that it interacts with acoustic waves in two different ways. From one direction, the metamaterial exhibits a positive density and interacts with acoustic waves normally - just like air. But from a perpendicular direction, the metamaterial exhibits a negative density in terms of how it interacts with sound. This effectively makes acoustic waves bend at angles that are the exact opposite of what basic physics would tell you to expect. The practical effect of this is that the metamaterial has some very useful applications. For one thing, the metamaterial can be used to improve acoustic imaging. Traditionally, acoustic imaging could not achieve image resolution that was smaller than half of a sound's wavelength. For example, an acoustic wave of 100 kilohertz (kHz), traveling through air, has a wavelength of 3.4 millimeters (mm) – so it couldn't achieve image resolution smaller than 1.7mm." Yun Jing, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State, said "This metamaterial is something that we've known is theoretically possible, but no one had actually made it before." He also says "Medical personnel and structural engineers sometimes need to focus sound for imaging or therapeutic purposes. Our metamaterial can do that, or it can be used to improve resolution. There are few tools out there that can do both." Chen Shen, a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State and lead author of the paper, says "By placing the metamaterial between the imaging device and the object being imaged, we were able to more than double the resolution of the acoustic imaging – from one-half the sound's wavelength to greater than one-fifth. For example, the metamaterial could be designed to block sound from most angles, leaving only a small opening for sound to pass through, which might be useful for microphones. Or you could leave it wide open – it's extremely flexible."

Industry News 15 Years Ago
The Online Music Subscription Pricing Competition Begins
Yesterday the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted 5-0 to approve the $109 billion purchase of Time Warner Inc (TW) by Internet service provider America Online (AOL). While there will be some necessary concessions made so that AOL does not limit or obstruct its competitors from using Time Warner's content, AOL will now be seen an a multimedia conglomerate with the proverbial 800 lbs. gorilla. AOL's stock gained $1.80 to $50.25 while TM's stock gained $2.75, reaching $75.35 in midday trading on Thursday. The new Version 6 of AOL software includes heir own media player for playing both audio and video from the internet. While many consumers are complaining of the many bugs in the software, Version 6 of AOL's new software proves that AOL is looking to become a big playing the online music and video sales segment of the marketplace. To aid AOL in their plans, they are looking to offer more consumers broadband access (high-speed internet) to millions of consumers. Best Buy is also looking to become a major player in the online delivery of music as well while MP3.com has been active becoming a major music distributor for years. Let the games and subscription price competition begin!

12 / 19 / 15

Musicians Proven To 'Hear' Music Better Than Non-Musicians
New York University researchers have proved that brain rhythms are used to process music, which also pertains to how human perception of notes and melodies can be used as a method to better understand the auditory system. Within the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study uncovers how human's brain has cortical oscillations during detection of musical sequences and suggests musical training can enhance the functional role of brain rhythms. Within this study it also shows that musicians have more potent oscillatory mechanisms than non-musicians. "We've isolated the rhythms in the brain that match rhythms in music," explains Keith Doelling, an NYU Ph.D. student and the study's lead author. "Specifically, our findings show that the presence of these rhythms enhances our perception of music and of pitch changes." Study co-author David Poeppel, who is a professor in NYU's Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, said "What this shows is we can be trained, in effect, to make more efficient use of our auditory-detection systems," “Musicians, through their experience, are simply better at this type of processing." There has been previous research proving that brain rhythms very precisely synchronize with speech. This enables humans to parse continuous streams of speech, isolate syllables, words, and phrases from speech. Researches are still seeking the connection between cortical brain rhythms / oscillations and how they may determine humans processing other types of natural and complex sounds including music. After further research they feel that some non-musicians may be unable to process the music as a continuous melody. Instead, their brains seem to process music as individual notes. "Moreover, musicians much more accurately detected pitch distortions – as evidenced by corresponding cortical oscillations. Brain rhythms, they add, therefore appear to play a role in parsing and grouping sound streams into 'chunks' that are then analyzed as speech or music" says the report. Furthermore, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has just published how the human brain contains neural mechanisms specific to music perception. MIT neuroscientists have clearly identified a neural population in the human auditory cortex that responds specifically to sounds that are categorized as music, but not to speech or other external sounds. MIT employed a new method to identify neural populations from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. "It has been the subject of widespread speculation," says Josh McDermott, the Frederick A. and Carole J. Middleton Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. "One of the core debates surrounding music is to what extent it has dedicated mechanisms in the brain and to what extent it piggybacks off of mechanisms that primarily serve other functions." Sam Norman-Haignere, a postdoc at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research, says "The music result is notable because people had not been able to clearly see highly selective responses to music before." Furthermore, Nancy Kanwisher, the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at MIT and a member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research, says "Our findings are hard to reconcile with the idea that music piggybacks entirely on neural machinery that is optimized for other functions, because the neural responses we see are highly specific to music."

12 / 18 / 15

Enjoy the Music.com's Live CES Broadcast Time Slots Are Filling Up Fast!
Enjoy the Music.com, in partnership with Enjoy the Music.TV, is celebrating our third year live streaming coverage from the International CES in Las Vegas. Our CES 2014 and CES 2015 live stream received many manufacturer accolades, with all videos being available for on-demand viewing after the show. We are getting inundated with requests to appear within the high-end audio industry's only professional TV studio broadcast. On-air appearances are being scheduled now so act fast as our previous live broadcast sold out, with many manufacturers asking for stand-by time slots if any became available. Enjoy the Music.com's CES 2016 live broadcast will feature leading-edge consumer technologies including the trending Hi-Res Audio (HRA) initiative, vinyl LPs, amplification devices, cables, tweaks and more. When combined with the industry's only dedicated high-end audio Press Center online, there is no doubt Enjoy the Music.com is leading the way in educating music enthusiasts from our in-house experts. With decades of experience in delivering the latest advancements to inform audiophiles of what audio gear best meets their needs, music lovers worldwide rely on our show reports and equipment reviews to find what they're looking for. CES exhibitors should e-mail us ASAP to book their live on-air appearance at this link.

12 / 17 / 15

Primacoustic Is Offering A Free Room Acoustics Analysis Service
Primacoustic's new free room acoustics calculator walks you through the process of entering the required measurements and information to better the sound within your listening space. Primacoustic, a division of Radial Engineering Ltd., is proud to announce their room acoustics analysis service that can be accessed through the company's website. This service invites the user to fill out a series of questions that will be used to determine the acoustic issues with the space. Questions cover: the purpose of the room, the size of the room, wall surface measurements, and existing floor and ceiling materials. A description of the way in which the room will be used, as well as an explanation of the acoustical issues that need to be resolved in the space also form part of the information required for the analysis. Once filled out, the form is sent to an acoustic specialist who will engage with the user to review requirements and then provide a room analysis along with suggested materials and estimated budget for the installation. "Most people realize that they have a problem in their room, but do not know how to identify it or come up with a solution" says Primacoustic Market Development Manager Steve Dickson. "To use this service, one simply visits the Primacoustic website and clicks the 'Get A Quote' button at the top of the page. The information input steps only take a few minutes to complete. Primacoustic is proud to offer this service as we know the difference proper room acoustic treatment can make and recognize most folks expect the process to be complicated."

12 / 16 / 15

Enjoy the Music.com Features Australian Hi-Fi Magazine's Latest Issue
Enjoy the Music.com has just added Australian Hi-Fi's January / February 2016 issue! This issue includes reviews of the Harbeth Super HL5plus loudspeakers, Pioneer SC-LX89 AV receiver, Gold Note CD-1000 CD player/DAC, Q Acoustics Concept 40 speakers and more. Completists will be buying the great-sounding SACD of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1 not because it sounds so good, but because it's the first recording that to use the original 1879 score! Also within this issue is John Shand investigating some Bernie McGann from 1966, as well as Daniel Weltlinger, Luca Ciarla, Song Fwaa, Sunny Kim & Ben Monder and Josh Kyle & Sam Keevers. Within his editorial, Greg Borrowman says, "I recently attended the launch of a yet another ‘me-too' product attempting to out-Sonos Sonos that offered not only all the modern ‘inputs' you could want: Bluetooth, Airplay, Wi-Fi, et al, but also a complete array of ‘legacy' analogue inputs, including a phono input. Although I thought that including a phono input on such a system was unusual, since anyone buying such a system who did want to add a turntable would most likely buy a turntable with a built-in phono preamplifier, or one with a USB output, I could appreciate that including a dedicated phono input gave the marketing department more leeway to generate some powerful advertising slogans. Needless to say, on the digital side, the system handled all digital formats, right up to DSD." You can see what's within the mst recent issue of Australian Hi-Fi at this link.

Industry News 15 Years Ago
'Protected' Music Again Thrust Upon Consumers... And Fails
Looking to bring yet another proprietary format to the industry already filled with non-standard media, DataPlay is going to be releasing their new small data recorder/player which uses us currency quarter-sized media that will retail from $5-10 a disc. Each disc will hold 500MB of data, yet with an interesting twist. Of course it can be used for storing various files, text, etc, it will also store pre-recorded music that will be on sale. These pre-recorded titles will include a unique DataPlay feature called ContentKey. This new technology allows consumers to activate value-added content online such as additional music on the disc, video clips, etc. Users will simply click a link and go online to activate the extra content. Because the information is already on the disc, there is no long download times to unlock the extra content. In 2015 we look back and realize this was not simply a bad idea, as any attempt at selling consumers protected digital content has failed, it also was yet another very limited proprietary storage format that never caught on.

12 / 15 / 15

Terry Bozzio To Release Multi-Disc Hi-Res Audio Music
Legendary and award winning melodic drummer Terry Bozzio is releasing worldwide, what he calls a "Life's Work" project of Art & Music on the Japanese label Ward Records. Bozzio is embarking on a world tour to promote it starting in Japan and Europe in the fall of 2015 and continuing throughout the United States of America during 2016. Terry has worked with Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Korn, UK, Missing Persons, Mick Jagger, Robbie Robertson, Alan Holdsworth, Tony Levin, Steve Vai, Quincy Jones, Ken Scott, Metropole Orkest, SMAP, Loudness' Munetaka Higuchi & "X" Japan's Hide - as well as Film score composers Basil Poledouris, Mark Isham & Patrick O'Hearn - Grammy winner RockWalk Honoree, Modern Drummer magazine's Hall of Fame Award, and Rolling Stone's Top 5 Drummers of All Time! "I've been composing, (not just song writing, like for Missing Persons and Jeff Beck) since the 1970s," says Terry Bozzio. "I compose in all styles (as one might classify them), from classical to ambient, electronic, film-like to fusion/rock or jazz. I have my own character or personality, it's unique. I work with many different processes from writing notes on paper, to recording live, to several different computer software applications I may use, that are suited to the particular result I am trying to achieve. Both Zappa and famed musicologist Nicolas Slonimsky encouraged me to compose and I have had my Chamberworks performed at the Vienna Jazz Festival in Holland with Metropol Orkest." The Composer Series contains 59 individual pieces, or movements of compositions, with a painting in a booklet for each title along with detailed liner notes for each piece explaining his concepts, feelings, process and approach for each. It will be available in a deluxe hard-cover artbook which includes Terry Bozzio's hand drawn illustrations and commentary for each piece, audio CDs plus a solo drum performance Blu-ray shot in Japan in 2015 with bonus footage, 192kHz/24-bit Hi-Res Audio of the 59 pieces on Blu-ray and a bonus DVD including a 60 minute talk session of Terry Bozzio with Masa Ito. The material will also be made available in CD/DVD or four CD/Blu-ray for record stores, as well as in many or individual downloadable formats online.

Futuresource's Latest Multi-Regional Audio Shopper's Journey
Futuresource has unveil its latest multi-regional exploration into the Audio Shopper's Journey magnifying buyer behavior across five markets. Futuresource has announced the release of its latest report exploring multi-regional trends in the audio shopper's journey whilst considering purchasing Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Speakers and Headphones across China, France, Germany, UK and the USA. The research focuses on the key steps, as well as internal and external stimulus that affect the consumers' decision making process when considering an audio product purchase. It identifies current product ownership, future intentions, knowledge of high-resolution audio, music streaming services, Bluetooth or wireless speaker ownership and multi-room and device connectivity. According to the study, around 40% of respondents had purchased either a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi speaker, with Bluetooth the most popular choice. The research also found that 48% of the overall sample had purchased headphones. A high percentage of these purchases were made within the last year. "Around half of respondents claim to be aware of the differences between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Speakers, however more than 70% of respondents didn't know or answered incorrectly to certain statements, including around portability for use outdoors, support for higher resolution audio, and availability of in-built streaming services," says Caroline Baines, Head of Consumer Research for Futuresource Consulting. Music was integral to many respondents' daily lives, with a high number of them listening to music on a daily basis. Spotify is the key service being accessed, most using the free service and close to a quarter are paying to access Spotify. A key reason for purchasing a speaker is to play music through a mobile device e.g. phone or tablet, followed by wanting to have access to the same music in multiple rooms of the house. The report found that ownership of bulky higher end audio visual items is relatively low for some products, such as A/V receivers, though 1 in 5 respondents in the UK already own a Soundbar, with a further 12% planning to purchase one in the next 12 months. According to the report there is still clearly significant room for growth in the market. The shopper journey report focuses on the most recent significant product purchases that respondents have made, drilling down into the decision making criteria at different points during the individual's product journey including cost, reason for purchase, importance of decision criteria, information sources, method of purchase, product satisfaction, likelihood of recommendations of product, brand or retailer. In terms of brand loyalty only 1 in 10 consumers said they prefer to purchase the same brand when purchasing audio devices, while close to half said it was dependent on the product being purchased. When evaluating the most influential sources of information used to research a product, the results varied for speakers and headphones. Around 50% of those who had purchased speakers carried out research prior to purchase (compared to 40% for headphone purchasers). For speakers, word of mouth was the biggest influencer, followed closely by manufacturer websites, then jointly retailer websites and/or independent product reviews. For headphones, independent product reviews was the main source of information. In general, however, online product reviews proved more influential than in-store demos when purchasers were asked to rate the influence of these two factors. The final leg of this year's study creates a snap shot of the forthcoming purchase intentions, such as approximate spend, reason for intended purchase, method of purchase, brand considerations and rankings for various purchase influences. Around a third of respondents had a brand in mind when choosing their speaker or headphones, with word of mouth a key method by which respondents became aware of the brand. You can see more from their infographic at this link.

12 / 14 / 15

Enjoy the Music.com Contest!
Win A Spin-Clean Record Washer MKII – 40th Anniversary "Retro" Unit!

12 / 11 / 15

Now Accepting CES 2016 Time Slot Reservations & Press Releases
Enjoy the Music.com Is Now Accepting CES 2016 Press Releases And Live Broadcast Time Slot Requests

The Absolute Sound's New Issue Features Product Of The Year Awards
The Absolute Sound's January 2016 issue features many excellent equipment reviews, a special feature about Mark Levinson's new engineering center and the magazine's Product Of The Year Awards! This issue is filled with reviews of the Kronos Sparta turntable, Zanden Audio Systems 120 phonostage, Bryston BDP-2 digital player, Oyaide Neo d+ Class A USB 2.0 cable, Melco NA1 music server, Audeze EL-8 headphones & Deckard amp, Elac B3 loudspeaker, Essence High-Definition Audio Control Center, Audible Illusions L3A preamplifier, Morrow Audio cables, D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Classic stereo power amplifier, sonus faber Lilium loudspeaker, Pass Labs XA160.8 monoblock amplifiers, Skogrand Beethoven cables, Ayon CD-3x CD player / DAC / preamplifier and more. Within his editorial A Matter of Perspective, Andrew Quint says "My own history at TAS is unique in that, for most of my 20 years at the magazine, I wrote exclusively about music, musicians, engineers, and producers. Only recently, with great pleasure and some trepidation, have I moved into the humbling undertaking of assessing equipment as well. But never during those two decades did I think of myself as pursuing goals that were any different than our finest hardware reviewers, including the late, great Harry Pearson, who never considered price to be any sort of indicator of the worth of an audio component. Believe me, there's nothing that pleases a TAS reviewer more than finding affordable gear to gush over, and all of us—Robert and Jonathan included—have done so. But if the performance of a $5000 speaker comes within 10 percent of that of a $50,000 model, you still need to hear about the pricey one. The edge of the art is always moving away from what's accessible to most of us; it better be, or we won't benefit from innovation. You don't need to buy XLFs or Q7s or Raidho D-5s to be a discriminating audiophile, a full-fledged member of the fraternity. I'd argue that you don't even need to hear them. You just need to hear about them." See what is within the January 2016 issue of The Absolute Sound at this link.

12 / 10 / 15

Toronto Audio Video Entertainment Show Report -- TAVES 2015
Part 4 Posted 12 / 10 / 2015
See new high-end audio gear within our extensive TAVES 2015 show report!

Entotem Plato Hi-Fi And Home Entertainment System
British manufacturer Entotem has launched a Kickstarter project to bring the multi award winning Plato hi-fi and home entertainment system to the Canadian and USA marketplace. Plato, launched in February this year is an all-in-one high tech system providing a unique and ground breaking vinyl recording experience. Plato combines audio playback with real time recording into the 24-bit/192kHz format of your vinyl, CD and cassette collection. Built in are pre-amp, 50 watt high performance amplifier and Plato also connect to your home network and becomes a multi-room audio network player. Multi-room video streaming is also available within the Plato system as is 2TB of hard drive to store you all audio and video recordings and archives, Gracenote look up for all audio recording delivers artwork and track data, saving you time and money. Built on the versatile Android OS platform, Plato also provides a mobile companion app for remote control of the system, iOS will be available shortly, all Plato's features can be accessed using your tablet or mobile. With a growing list of five star and recommended reviews, Plato has also received AV Tech Media's award for 'Best Innovation' 2015/16, Clarity Alliance 'Innovation' award and Hi-Fi World Magazine 'Best Network Player' award 2015.

Industry News 5 Years Ago
Diana Krall's Holiday Favorite Christmas Songs In 24-bit/96kHz
Diana Krall's holiday favorite Christmas Songs is now available on HDtracks in 24-bit/96kHz! Co-produced by Krall, with Grammy award winning Tommy LiPuma, the album features the talents of renowned arranger and bassist John Clayton (Count Basie, Duke Ellington), guitarist Anthony Wilson (Chris Botti, Michael Buble), drummer Jeff Hamilton (Rosemary Clooney, Natalie Cole) and bassist Bob Hurst (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live). The Clayton/Hamilton Orchestra accompanies Krall for seasonal standards, "Let It Snow," "I'll Be Home For Christmas," "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" and "Jingle Bells." Legendary composer Johnny Mandel contributes a string arrangement to "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep." Rounding out the album are previously released versions of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "Christmas Time Is Here" with a band that includes guitarist Russell Malone. This album is the perfect stocking stuffer for the holiday season for you and all your friends! Enjoy the Music.com has reviewed the CD version, with you can read and also buy the CD for $8 at this link.

12 / 09 / 15

Q Acoustics 3050 Speakers
Martin Colloms gets very enthusiastic about a surprisingly inexpensive pair of floorstanding loudspeakers.
Review By Martin Colloms

12 / 08 / 15

Hi-Fi+ Has Released Their Holiday Special December Issue
Hi-Fi+'s December issue leads the way with special feature articles, show reports, and high-end audio equipment reviews. Show reports include Denver, Windsor, and Warsaw. This issue also has reviews of the Naim Audio Statement preamplifier and mono power amps, Wilson Benesch A.C.T. One Evolution floorstanding loudspeaker, AURALiC Aries wireless streaming bridge, Constellation Audio Inspiration preamplifier and mono power amps, PMC TwoTwo.6 active standmount loudspeaker, Karan Acoustics PA1 phonostage, Audio Origami PU7 and Uniarm gimballed and unipivot tonearms, Ensemble Incanto and Dalvivo cables and more. Within his editorial It's That End Of Year Time Once Again, Alan Sircom says "he secret to getting it right isn't just 'giving the customer what they want' (although that helps). It's the understanding that this increasingly confusing world means we have to rely on experts to shape what we want in the first place. Next year, buzz-words like 'Everything as a Service' and 'The Internet of Things' are likely to become commonplace in audio (outside of very nerdy circles), and many of us are going to need a decoder ring. That's where we come in! Over 2016, we hope to demystify some of this audio confusion." See what is within the December issue if Hi-Fi+ at this link.

12 / 07 / 15

Enjoy the Music.com Features HIFICRITIC's Latest Issue
Enjoy the Music.com has just posted HIFICRITIC's most recent issue. HIFICRITIC features articles and reviews by longstanding industry professionals and is completely advertisement-free. This issue includes reviews of the Ophidian loudspeakers Minimo, Mojo, and Mambo, G9 Audio Nero MKII preamplifier and amplifier, Metrum Pavane DAC, Martin Colloms assesses an SSD audiophile server/DAC/pre-amp, Neat Momentum SX3i, Naim NAP 300 DR, Bowers & Wilkins 803 D3 speakers, Constellation Inspiration integrated, Gryphon Diablo 300 integrated amplifier, Q Acoustics 3050 floorstanding loudspeakers, Roksan Darius stand-mounters and much more. We've also published Subjective Sounds where Paul Messenger discovers a fascinating German brand called Phöress. Within the editorial Have High-End Audio Preamplifiers Lost Their Credibility?, Paul Messenger says "Don't get me wrong. I'm not in the least unhappy with the new pre-amp. It sounds quite lovely, but its arrival does mean that I'll have to make some adjustments to my lifestyle. I reckon I can live with the lack of 'rec out'; I may well be able to find a way round the handset problem too; and the acquisition of a couple of leads will probably sort out the input limitations. However, the latter has drawn attention to a point that I've been pondering since I reviewed the excellent Audio Music R-T1 two-box valve pre-amplifier (distributed by LW Audio) for another magazine a year or two back. That device certainly sounded very good indeed, but because it had just three line inputs it was quite impractical from my point of view." You can see what's within this issue of HIFICRITIC here.

12 / 04 / 15

Enjoy the Music.com Adds Hi-Fi World's January 2016 Edition
Enjoy the Music.com has just added Hi-Fi World's January issue filled with excellent reviews, think pieces and celebrates their 2015 Awards. This issue includes reviews of the Dali Zensor 3 loudspeakers, Spendor A5r loudspeakers, Chord Mojo DAC, Quad Artera stereo DAC/CD player & amplifier, Northern Fidelity DAC, Roksan K3 Di CD player, Clearaudio's trackability test record, and more. Within his editorial, Hi-Fi World's Noel Keywood says "We encounter a lot of admirable products every year, ones that have not a peep wrong with them and do everything expected well. And so they get a hearty recommendation from us, with our advice that you should check them out. I'll quote the FiiO X3 high-resolution portable player straight away: small, inexpensive at just £150 and just about perfectly honed. But it wasn't an Astell&Kern in sound quality, nor a Lotoo PAW Gold either, and now Chord have released Mojo the whole market is going to have to look to its transistors. My point being that in a constantly moving market there is the honourable mainstream – but there are some stand-out products." You can see this special 2015 Awards issue of Hi-Fi World at this link.

12 / 03 / 15

Enjoy the Music.com Will Be Live Streaming CES 2016 In Las Vegas
Enjoy the Music.com, in partnership with Enjoy the Music.TV, celebrates our third year live streaming coverage from the International CES in Las Vegas. With our CES 2014 and CES 2015 live stream receiving many manufacturer accolades, our CES 2016 live broadcast will feature leading-edge consumer technologies including the trending Hi-Res Audio (HRA) initiative. When combined with the industry's only dedicated high-end audio Press Center online, there is no doubt Enjoy the Music.com is leading the way in educating music enthusiasts from our in-house experts. With decades of experience in delivering the latest advancements to inform audiophiles of what audio gear best meets their needs, music lovers worldwide rely on our show reports and equipment reviews to find what they're looking for. During our CES 2016 live stream we will showcase everything from high quality portable audio devices and headphones to the most recent developments in high fidelity audio gear and Hi-Res Audio. The live broadcast will be hosted by Enjoy the Music.com's Creative Director Steven R. Rochlin, who has decades of experience in consumer electronics plus was honored by the President of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and was a member to help guide CEA's high-end audio division. You can read the full press release concerning our CES 2016 live stream announcement at this link.

Linn Is Once Again Giving Away Free 24-bit Music This Holiday Season
Linn is once again offering high quality music to celebrate Christmas with the festive gift of free Studio Master music in high resolution. Each week in December a curated collection of Studio Master tracks will be available to download from Linn Records' diverse and talented roster of artists. Each collection has its own theme and offers a great introduction to high quality Studio Master downloads. There's something for virtually everyone to enjoy, including a rendition from Britain's First Lady of Jazz, Claire Martin, an award-winning performance from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra's hugely popular Mozart symphonies and an exclusive track from the beautiful English pianist and vocalist, Liane Carroll. You can enjoy a free taste of what's on offer throughout December with Linn's preview download The Movie Collection, which is now available. Linn's 24-bit Studio Master downloads can be enjoyed using a network music player, laptop, PC, Hi-Res Audio capable devices and all modern high quality portable media players.

12 / 02 / 15

Fidelis Music Systems And Head-Fi Hold Special Event December 5th
Fidelis Music Systems of New Hampshire has a very special event on December 5th and they know audio well due to many years of expertise within the field. Putting together a music system that's exactly right for you is a science and an art. It requires technical expertise as well as a true appreciation and feel for the emotional appeal of music. As avid enthusiasts, Fidelis Music Systems has been bringing these attributes to their customers for many years. During their upcoming event they will feature Bill Voss, US Business Development Manager for Technics. Bill will be demonstrating and discussing Technics new C700 Premium Series components that feature a Digital Integrated DAC / Amplifier, Network Player and CD Player as well as their amazing new linear-phase, point source concept Loudspeaker. Also at the event will be Dave Schultz, Sales Manager for REL Acoustics, who will demonstrate some of the latest subwoofer designs including a new on wall version the Habitat1. As an added bonus, Vinnie Rossi will be hosting the New England Region Head-Fi event where you can experience some of the very best in headphone technology from local enthusiasts and professionals. The event will be held December 5th at 460 Amherst Street in Nashua, NH 03063. You can ring them for more details at (603) 880-4434.

Jaco: The Film Documents His Pioneering Electric Bass Talent
JACO: The Film is a full-length documentary chronicling the life, music and ongoing influence of the mythic electric bass pioneer Jaco Pastorius. Now available on DVD and Blu-ray ($13.99 and $17.99 respectively), this documentary is produced by Robert Trujillo (bassist of Metallica). JACO incorporates interviews with musical visionaries including Sting, Joni Mitchell, Flea, Jerry Jemmott, Bootsy Collins, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana and many others with never-before-seen photos and films from the Pastorius family archive. This extraordinary film reveals the story behind Jaco's life and music, both as a solo artist and member of Weather Report, the tragic arc of his demise and early death and the enduring influence and inspiration of his artistry and genius. The DVD and Blu-ray release is a two-disc set, with Disc 1 being the film and Disc 2 featuring bonus material with 30 never before seen interviews with Joni Mitchell, Carlos Santana, Bootsy Collins and many more.

Industry News 15 Years Ago
RIAA Seeks To Clear The Way For Online Subscription Services
This was recently posted on the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) website. We felt the desire to republish it here, in its entirety, as it is quite a new revelation to benefit many music artists:

RIAA Turns to Copyright Office in Effort to Bring Subscription Services Online

Recording Industry Petitions for Possible Arbitration Solution to Subscription Service Royalty Discussions

WASHINGTON, November 29, 2000 – In an effort to bring subscription services online as quickly as possible, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has filed a petition urging the U.S. Copyright Office to conduct rulemaking proceedings, and to convene a CARP (Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel) if necessary, to establish the mechanical royalty obligations of companies offering new subscription music services.

The RIAA and the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) have been working together to find a business solution for subscription service royalties, and it is expected that those efforts will continue. But in the event that a solution cannot be found, the Copyright Office has been petitioned to help the parties understand their legal rights and royalty obligations, by convening a royalty arbitration panel or otherwise issuing any necessary regulations.

"The recording industry understands the urgent need to bring subscription music services online. We believe the music publishing community does too, and will therefore work with us to ensure it happens," stated Hilary Rosen, President and CEO of the RIAA.

"We will proceed to a regulatory process to establish the mechanical royalty obligations of record companies if a business solution for new online subscription services cannot be negotiated in the near future. Our highest priority is enabling these new services to launch as soon as practicable," said Rosen.

"Songwriters and music publishers must benefit from these new opportunities online. We are committed to this principle. But if the legitimate industry's efforts to offer consumers the benefits of subscription services are slowed down, piracy will continue to fill the void," she stated.

The petition explains that the law in this area is uncertain and may be covered by the compulsory licensing provisions of the Copyright Act. According to the petition, record companies are ready and willing to pay royalties to musical work copyright owners when record companies use or authorize the use of musical works in services that transmit On-Demand Streams (i.e. streaming transmissions that permit users to listen to the music they want when they want and as it is transmitted to them) and/or Limited Downloads (i.e. on-demand transmissions of downloads to a local storage device using technology that causes the downloaded file to be available for listening only for a limited period of time or a limited number of times). The petition calls on the Copyright Office to convene the CARP or issue regulations to determine the rate if the rulemaking indicates that the compulsory license provisions apply.

The RIAA is a trade association whose members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90 percent of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States.

12 / 01 / 15

Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems M400 Monoblock Amplifier
Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems is releasing their M400 ($65,000 per pair), which is a major upgrade to the company's flagship Momentum monaural amplifier. Chief Engineer and Designer Dan D'Agostino started an engineering exercise that resulted in an exciting new breakthrough that D'Agostino felt compelled to include within the Momentum amplifier. This research led to the substantial improvements included the new Momentum M400. Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems' M400 increases the power output from 300 to 400 Watts due in part to a new ultra-quiet 1800VA linear transformer. This is a 20% increase in size from the original design. Coupled to this larger power source is a new output stage design that includes a number of major enhancements. Within the new Momentum M400, the driver stage has been elevated to a fully complementary design. There are now individual transistors employed for the positive and negative halves of the musical signal. This change nearly doubles the current drive necessary to maximize the enhanced output stage that follows. The new output stage takes this increased drive to boost the open loop gain by the same factor of two. According to Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, "The result is a sound that is more authoritative, richer, and more expansive." The Momentum M400 employs the same chassis with a small aesthetic design change to the copper feature on the faceplate sides. Additionally, the meter now displays a scale appropriate for the greater power output. Current Momentum monaural amplifiers can be upgraded to the Momentum M400 performance level for $15,000 per pair and is performed at the D'Agostino Audio facility in Arizona. Designer Dan D'Agostino says, "I am thrilled to be able to improve on the best amplifier design of my career, said Dan D'Agostino. Even more exciting is that we can offer these upgrades to original Momentum amplifier customers."

Enjoy the Music.com's December Review Magazine Is Now Online
Enjoy the Music.com's December Review Magazine is filled with many great updates including TAVES and NYAS reports, a world premiere review and the first of two press releases that will benefit you! As we round out our November GIK Acoustics' contest, we'll soon be posting our December contest and if you're an active member of Enjoy the Music.com's eNewsletter list then you're already entered for your chance to win. See our December Review Magazine by clicking here.

Over the past two decades Enjoy the Music.com has grown immensely by listening to our readers, members of the press and manufacturers / distributors too. CTA's Las Vegas CES 2016 will mark the launch of our Press Center, with our Press Center showcasing AXPONA exhibitors and other major high-end audio events throughout the year. As the high-end audio industry's official Press Center, you can learn more about all the great new gear at major audiophile shows. This is a long overdue dedicated central location for audiophile press releases so our loyal readers, and the entire industry, can benefit. Also of note is that we have one, and perhaps two, press releases coming soon as we expand our service for the high-end audio and music community!

With the winter holiday season upon us, we've posted our 10th annual Great Audiophile Gift ideas. Out top 12 picks are featured and all are priced under $400, with many being below $200. It's that wonderful time of year where you can give that very special someone a great gift they can enjoy for many years!

Enjoy the Music.com's December Review Magazine features our special 20/20 Award for high-end audio loudspeakers, a world premiere review of Channel D's Seta Piccola Mk2 phono preamplifier, Margules' magnificent SF220.15 20th Anniversary preamplifier & U280sc 25th Anniversary amplifier plus Noble's outstanding Noble 3 universal fit in-ear monitors (IEM). Longtime industry insider Roger Skoff discusses why he never turns his audio system while Senior Editor Tom Lyle travels through time and space through his writings about the progress forward with high-end audio.

You can see Enjoy the Music.com's December Review Magazine at this link. As always, in the end what really matters is that you...

Enjoy the Music,

Steven R. Rochlin
Creative Director

 
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