Audio News for February 24, 2012

by | Feb 24, 2012 | Audio News

Classical News – New York City Opera has left its expensive home at Lincoln Center and is trying alternatives such as the Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. They had a stripped-down intimate version of La Traviata there this month. The Los Angeles School Board recently met to consider eliminating all elementary school arts instruction. A public outcry against these cuts was loud and clear—and effective, at least for now.  Cellist David Finckel, who has been a member of the Emerson String Quartet, will leave at the end of 2012-2013 season, to be succeeded by Paul Watkins. Finckel and his wife pianist Wu Han are the Musical America Musicians of the Year, co-artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, ArtistLed recordings, and the Music@Menlo Festival.
Gryphon Mephisto Solo Monoblock Amp – We may be in an economic meltdown, but Danish high end maker Gryphon Audio Designs is not responding in the typical fashion of others by turning to the i-type device market, downsizing or giving up. Instead they are experiencing their best financial results ever, and have introduced their new 200 watts-into-8-ohms monoblock amp in a brushing aluminium housing, for 84,000 Euros (per channel). It is built for massive peak current swings into extremely low impedances without losing its cool. Gryphon founder and CEO Flemming E. Rasmussen designs all their products.
Sharp Adds DTS 2.0 to LCD TVs – Sharp is the first licensee to incorporate DTS 2.0 and DTS 2.0 + Digital Out in TVs capable of delivering surround sound or stereo with digital content. DTS 2.0 + Digital Out decodes DTS-encoded content for stereo playback directly from the TV, turning it into a media hub with an immersive audio experience without the additional requirement of a digital media player or set-top box. It is compatible with external devices such as AV receivers or home theater systems.
Pinnacle Speakers Wins Unauthorized Distribution Dispute – Pinnacle, of Hauppauge, NY—the second-oldest independently-owned speaker maker in the U.S.—has won a monetary award from DBL Distributing, who was found by a New York arbitration panel to have sold Pinnacle’s products to e-tailers in violation of an authorized distribution agreement. DBL is a top distributor of CE accessories with more than 32,000 retail customers nationwide, as is part of Ingram Micro, a Fortune 100 company.
Yamaha Merges Home Audio with Musical Instruments in U.S. – On April 1 Yamaha Corp. will merge its two subsidiaries located in Buena Park, CA — Yamaha Electronics Corp. (home audio) and Yamaha Corp. of America (musical instruments, pro audio and music schools). Sales and rep forces will not be merged. The objective is to realize maximum synergy and increased management efficiency. Yamaha bills itself as the world’s largest musical instrument manufacturer.

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