SIGNALS & NOISE (Letters to Editor) (Jun. 1987)

Live-End/Dead-End Update

Dear Editor:

Regarding my two-part article on building a live-end/dead-end listening room (Audio, December 1986 and January 1987), it has come to my attention that there are acoustic products, manufactured or distributed by such companies as Acoustic Sciences Corp., Watkins Engineering, Monster Cable, Illbruck/USA, and others, which can be used to create the effect of a live-end/ dead-end listening room. As completely pre-manufactured units, they can eliminate the need to hand-build panels, frames, etc. Use of these products, however, should still follow the applicable guidelines in the two articles.

Please note that some of these products use acoustic foam materials that can be very effective, depending on just how they are used. These materials are not generally available to the public and therefore were not mentioned in the articles themselves. Also, exact construction techniques employed in these products vary, and are used to meet the individual goals of the products' designers.

In addition, Watkins Engineering has patented and is manufacturing and selling a product similar to what I de scribed in Part I of my article. There is no connection between Watkins Engineering and myself.

-William R. Hoffman, Reno, Nev.

Save the LP!

Dear Editor:

I'm deeply concerned with the battle between the LP and the CD! Why are record companies and others in such a hurry to push aside the LP? I guess new technology hype and sales are the target. It saddens me to walk into a record store and see three-quarters of the shelves stocked with CDs and one-quarter with records. The public is being hypnotized into buying a CD player in order to keep up with the future. I'm not purchasing one, but instead I'm upgrading my present stereo system. I can't see spending twice as much on a CD as compared to an LP. Long live vinyl is my motto! I'm so tired of hearing people praise the CD. Sure, the CD sounds great. But we must stop and think. Where would we be without the LP record? We can't stop the future, but we can save history!

All of us record collectors must stand together and fight to save the record. I've already made my stand by developing a "Save the Record" T shirt. Join me in the fight! Time is running out! Don't let the record become the next endangered species. We must make people aware that this is sue is of major concern! If you would like to wear a "Save the Record" T-shirt, send $12 postpaid ( U.S.) to: L. A. Schwartz, 249 North Brand Blvd., Suite 458, Glendale, Cal. 91203. (It's a red and black silkscreen design on white. Sizes: S, M, L, XL.) Thanks for caring!

-L. A. Schwartz, Glendale, Cal.

Be a Cassette –Pal

Dear Editor:

Many of your readers, especially those with elderly or shut-in friends or relatives, may be interested in a tape exchange group in which one may get to know people all over the world through audio cassettes. Information about this nonprofit group may be obtained from Mrs. Phyll Moore, Director, Silver Fern Tape Recording Club, 9 Kamahi Place, Rotorua, New Zealand.

This more than 12-year-old club has members of all ages in England, Africa, New Zealand, Sweden, Australia, Zimbabwe and the U.S. Dues are about $15 ( U.S.) per year.

-James K. Jobson, Sr., Austell, Ga.

Expression of Sympathy

Dear Editor:

I was recently told the sad news about Dick Heyser. It came as a shock, even though I knew he had been ill. All at B & O who have had the privilege of meeting him have had a deep respect for Dick, both as a thinker and as a person.

All of us here would like to express our sympathy to those who were close to him. We feel that you were so close to him that we can express our thoughts to you, and that you will give our message to others whom we do not know, but who knew him well.

-S. K. Pramanik, Bang & Olufsen, Struer, Denmark

(Audio magazine, Jun. 1987)

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