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Review: Tivoli Audio NetWorks Stereo Radio with FM - Macworld

29.01.09

Though some may think the radio’s wooden appearance cheapens the look of the speakers, few would argue that Tivoli Audio skimped on the sound. For its size, the NetWorks radio puts out a significant amount of quality audio—including plenty of bass. In fact, perhaps more bass than you might like; I found it a little muddy. Fortunately, the radio includes a configurable EQ feature for adjusting the bass and treble levels.

The stereo NetWorks radio I examined is composed of a base unit and a tethered right speaker (you can easily disconnect the second speaker by unplugging its cable from the base unit). This base unit is 5.5 inches wide, 8.75 inches tall, and 5.12 inches deep and hosts the system's amplifier; a blue backlit LCD for navigating through the radio’s controls; input and output jacks (headphone, right speaker, line-level, and subwoofer outputs, and auxiliary and mix inputs); an Ethernet jack; a balance knob; a USB port; control buttons on the back; and a dial/button on top that you use to adjust volume or mute the radio. The FM model also includes a telescoping antenna.

The base unit also includes a subwoofer port for those who’d like to add an optional subwoofer. There’s a button on the back that lets you choose to play the base unit alone as a mono speaker or, when adding the second speaker, the two speakers in stereo. If you don't need stereo audio, the base unit can be had for $600 without FM radio, or $650 with FM.

The aforementioned backlit LCD is what you use to select the wireless or wired Internet connection you’d like to use; choose a source for music files stored on networked computers or an attached USB device; tune in local FM stations; and configure the radio’s alarm and sleep features. You can do this in league with the included remote control or via buttons on the back of the base unit.

, for example—to pull up a list of stations whose names or descriptions contain that word. But because the remote doesn’t include an alphanumeric pad, you have to enter call letters or keywords with the remote’s arrow buttons, navigating through a list of letters. It’s a bit tedious.

The list of Internet radio stations is provided by Tivoli Audio. Luckily, you’re not stuck with just the stations available when the radio was manufactured. You can send an e-mail message to Tivoli Audio requesting that they add stations not included with the radio. Alternatively, you can go to the company’s Web site, register your radio’s ID, and request that specific stations be added just to your radio (you need the station’s ID and URL). Tivoli Audio processes that request and adds the requested stations to a My Stations listing on your radio within 24 hours of the request. Also, because the radio has the ability to update its software, Tivoli can add other stations along with those updates.

If you don’t use the search feature and prefer to browse for stations, you must dig down through several layers of menus to find the stations you’re after. And you’ll need to be close to the radio to do this—the blue LCD display looks cool, but it’s difficult to read from a distance. Being able to configure the radio from a computer on the local network or, say, an application running on an iPhone/iPod would be very helpful.

Once you find an Internet station you like, you can assign it to one of five presets, accessible from the remote or the preset buttons on the back of the radio. You can also add as many as 200 stations to a favorites list.

Locating FM stations is easier, but it could be easier still. The remote control has no numbered keypad, so you can’t simply enter the frequency of the station you’d like to listen to. Instead you have to use up and down tuning buttons on the remote or base unit, which is clumsy. (If only that dial on the top of the unit provided a way to quickly move up and down the FM band.)

You can save up to five FM stations to the remote’s presets. Doing so won't overwrite Internet radio stations you've saved to those buttons; the remote is smart enough to maintain separate presets for Internet radio and FM radio. Which you hear depends on the audio source you’ve chosen on the radio—Internet radio or FM. A Source button on the remote or on the back of the base unit allows you to easily switch between sources.

It’s useful that you can stream audio files from computers on your local network and play music from attached USB drives, but I’d like to see these features enhanced in a future version of the radio. Currently the NetWorks radio can stream only MP3 and WMA files. AAC files, protected or not, aren’t supported, so if you’ve ripped CDs using iTunes' default settings or purchased music from the iTunes Store, you can’t stream that music unless you convert your audio files to MP3 . Confusingly, albums and playlists that include AAC files still appear in the interface—it's frustrating when you believe you can play them and then discover you can’t.

And, of course, given the iPod’s success and Tivoli Audio’s support for it in some of its other products, the lack of iPod compatibility via USB is odd. To play an iPod via the NetWorks, you must connect the iPod to the radio’s auxiliary-input jack.)

For some, the look of the NetWorks radio will make or break the sale. It’s a unique look that not everyone will appreciate. If you get beyond that hurdle, you’re looking at a capable, reasonably portable, but pricey (at least $600) music player that can stream Internet radio and some music from your networked computers, play music from some attached USB devices, amplify devices (including iPods) plugged into its auxiliary jack, and, with some models, play FM radio. While I admire its flexibility and, generally, its sound, I regret that it requires some work to configure and navigate.

Source: Macworld, CA

Labelle's Nona Hendryx dishes on the reunion, and defines an ... - Los Angeles Times

29.01.09

When Labelle returns to Los Angeles on Thursday to play at the Nokia Theatre, you can be sure the crowd will be fabulous and the performance will be fierce.

Last fall, Verve Records released “Back to Now,” the long-anticipated return of the three extraordinary women who leaped from their girl-group youth into rock 'n' roll legend with a string of great albums in the 1970s and one indelible hit, “Lady Marmalade.” Made in league with old friends Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and spiritual heirs Lenny Kravitz and Wyclef Jean , “Back to Now” is a strong cup of grown up rock and soul.

Labelle toured during the holiday season, thrilling the fans who made them a cult phenomenon in the 1970s and attracting newcomers who’d heard that nobody could bring it onstage the way Nona Hendryx , Sarah Dash and Patti LaBelle could.

I checked in with Hendryx, the group’s main songwriter and most daring “sexy sexagenarian,” about how the reunion has been going. She had much to tell about their tumultuous weekend at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, what she’s been up to during their recent break, and how it feels to be back onstage with her sisters in song.

So, things did not go quite as planned at the Apollo show, I hear. The sound went out halfway through the show !

Yes. When it happened, it was very surrealistic. A storm took the power out, and we had a long intermission, and when we realized it wasn’t coming back we came out and sang a few numbers a capella, with a gospel choir.

Did you panic?

Experience does help in situations like this, because we’ve faced many situations where there wasn’t even a stage when we arrived and we still had to do the gig, or the band didn’t show up, and we still did a show. Our first few moments were like, "Wow, what’s happening?" rather than, "This is a drag. Can it be fixed? No? OK, what do we do?"

I said, "Let’s just go out there and tell people what happened and say that we can do a couple of songs." We thought that our microphones were working, at least, but by the time we got back out there even that had gone. We just had to sing really loud. We tried to get people to come down from the balconies so our voices could reach them. But they said, "Just go!" And the audience was so loving. It just felt like being in our mother’s lap.

It was nice that they stuck around.

Actually, having the sound go out gave so many of the people who were there a chance to mingle and see friends that they hadn’t seen since the last Labelle concert, decades ago. It was like a homecoming time. The bar was open; they had drinks. They talked about Labelle shows from the past. People who’d been to many of our shows were sort of holding court in the lobby. Everyone had a great time.

And you got to see how good the acoustics are at the Apollo.

We hadn’t had to [sing a capella]  in 30 or 40 years. I think the atmosphere lifted our vocals even higher. It was fine. We’ve gotten so used to electronics that at first it was like, 'This is weird.' Also, we got the choir to come out, and that helped.

You finished the show the next night, right?

That was lucky. The day after that I was leaving for Christmas vacation. We said, "We’ll just come back." And the audience came back too. I’d say it was 95% full.

How has the rest of the tour been?

Absolutely phenomenal. We didn’t have a full house in Chicago or Atlantic City -- it was  just under full -- but the crowd was just as enthusiastic and loving as in New York. And the show has gotten tighter. We’ve taken out a few things and added a couple of others, which is a good thing to do because it keeps it from getting stale.

How have you adjusted to singing in a harmony group again?

Because Patti has been on her own for so long, there’s still finding that connection,  weaving together again. My energy onstage as a solo artist is a much higher energy. I pretty much dance from the time I’m onstage until I’m off. I had to find out how to do that within Labelle.

But I think now we’re pretty much there. We’ve gotten back into the rhythm of how we perform together. It’s very kind of rubber band. It just snaps back into it.

The ballad sequence is just amazing -- I forgot what it was like to hear Patti sing and soar on song like “Come Into My Life” or “Nightbirds” or “You Turn Me On.” The audience goes completely bananas. You don’t hear people sing like that. It’s pretty amazing.” You’ve had a little time off. What have you been up to?

One thing was, I had two shows that I did with Laurie Anderson. The most recent one was a fundraiser at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. They’re trying to raise $30 million to build a new building. In this climate! But we did pretty well. Laurie curated the show; it was a mixture of talents. I performed with my “audio tutu.”

"Audio tutu"? What is that?

It’s a Plexiglas skirt with my sound system built into it, and I perform. It has a lighting system; I use an iPod, a wireless headset and the tutu. There’s a little hand-held computerized sound generator that allows me to compose on the spot, and use light as well. I’m finally getting to my dream of being untethered by wires and things.

That’s pretty different than throwing down in Labelle!

They’re both very necessary, and have always been necessary for me. With Patti and Sarah, it’s almost like a circus atmosphere. Patti’s the ringmaster, the leader, and I’m the bearded lady or ... the contortionist! And Sarah is the beauty diva person. And then we have all the other people who are a part of it.

The actual performance is such a rush, in terms of that being in the moment, which is very different from my audio tutu performance. And I need both of them because the one is much more a part of my thinking and my obsession with electronics and soundscapes, as opposed to Labelle, which is much more visceral and organic and impulsive.

I know the Southland contingent of Labelle fans is viscerally charged to see you ladies perform! What can we expect?

We definitely want to bring Labelle–ism to L.A. For the people who never had a chance to see us, too, to experience what it is. It’s not what it was in the 1970s, exactly -- but it still is something that you’ve never seen anywhere else. Of course, we always look for some sort of extra surprise to bring to the stage, and we’ll try to bring something that people there will want to see.

Hmmm… Special guests? Extra-feathery costumes?

That’s under wraps.

-- Ann Powers

Source: Los Angeles Times, CA

Audio News for January 27, 2009

27.01.09

Possible Delay of DTV Changeover; Surround Sound for iTunes Coming?; AstoundSound Stereo Expander Launched

Published on January 27, 2009

Possible Delay of DTV Changeover - The Senate voted yesterday to delay until June 12 the deadline for the complete switch from analog to digital TV broadcasting. Otherwise people using antennas with analog sets who may or may not know about the deadline would face loosing all TV reception on Feb. 17.  Comparable legislation is being readied in the House and with the backing of the Obama administration it is expected to pass soon. The estimate is that over 6.5 million U.S. households are still not ready for the transition, and the coupon program for the converter boxes ran out of money.

Surround Sound for iTunes Coming? - Fraunhofer, the German company who invented the MP3 data reduction format, has developed a new MPEG Surround format and says that Apple might be one of their first licensees. While surround sound is common in home theater systems and supported by SACD, DVD-Audio, standard DVD and Blu-ray, it has been difficult to get online digital audio files to support surround sound.  Fraunhofer�s MPEG Surround plugin - from the firm who also invented the improved AAC codec  used in the iTunes Store - encodes six, eight or more channels of surround sound audio data for playback on compatible stereo systems but will still be playable on non-surround devices such as iPods. The codec also works with Quicktime, and since both are cross-platform, if and when Apple signs up, both companies will be reaching a whole new class of consumers embracing surround sound in their homes and cars.

On a standard stereo MP3 player, one hears exactly the same signal as if the MPEG Surround file was a plain stereo MP3, but on a player with the new codec (and six speakers or a pseudo-surround speaker setup) the 10-20% of the file containing the surround information kicks in and turns the stereo signal into a discrete 5.1-channel signal. Since Apple was the first to make a success of an online store selling stereo music, it would be fitting for them to start marketing digital surround sound files.  Record labels have been recording in multichannel for some years now and have large libraries of surround masters, but many have only released on stereo CD because of limited sales of SACDs. One major label has already agreed to use MPEG Surround. Fraunhofer feels that MPEG Surround is the first practical way to get surround sound music to mainstream consumers.  iTunes would be the natural place for the surround sound files to be sold. A Fraunhofer rep predicted that the next step would be adding 3D sound to the iPod: �We think that new music players will eventually have binaural playback mode that lets you experience a realistic simulation of surround over ordinary headphones.�

AstoundSound Stereo Expander Launched - A different, non-discrete surround sound technology was introduced at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. GenAudio�s AstoundStereo Expander software, which will be available at an introductory offer of $20, processes standard audio files in realtime to create a more immersive audio experience. (The overstated announcement refers to "4D sound.") The effect is said to be heard thru as little as two audio channels, as in headphones or laptop speakers, but is better with a 5.1 speaker system.  The technology works with any stereo files and is cross-platform. Sample tracks are available until Feb. 8 at the GenAudio website.

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Labelle's Nona Hendryx dishes on the reunion, and defines an ... - Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times, CA - Jan 29, 2009 Labelle's Nona Hendryx dishes on the reunion, and defines an I performed with my “audio tutu.” It’sa Plexiglas skirt with my sound system built into it, and I perform. It has a lighting system; I use an iPod,

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