Editor's Review (Aug. 1973)

THIS YEAR the Consumer Electronics Show (more commonly known among its affectionate attendees by its initials, CES) was again held at Chicago's colossal McCormick Place. This show place is located on the shore of Lake Michigan about two miles south of The Loop, Chicago's city center. The view of the lake from the walkway along the east side of McCormick Place is, as one might expect, extraordinary. However, this view is not for those inside, as walls and curtained glass intervene. Leaving aside the question of whether the addition of such a visual attraction would be conducive to the business inside, it certainly would have been nice to have lunch outside in a "sidewalk" restaurant, looking out over the lake, despite the heat and humidity which prevailed during the first few days of the CES. A pity that the planners didn't include one.

Interest in the various quadraphonic mediums was very high on the part of most of those in attendance, and manufacturers have done a good deal of development work in the past year. There are no fantastic, startling developments to report nor is there any apparent "settling down" toward either of the two major systems--CD-4 or SQ. What seemed most in evidence, however, was a tendency on the part of receiver manufacturers to "cover their bets" by including both systems.

In addition, inputs for discrete tape sources are now relatively standard, and many receivers also had jacks for quadraphonic FM decoders/adaptors.

The doubling up of systems has, of course, pushed prices up and led one highly placed representative of a tape recorder manufacturer to remark that these costs would eventually be passed on to the consumer. They will indeed, since one cannot logically expect licensing and production costs to be borne by the manufacturers without remuneration.

But it should be pointed out that such "hedging" will delay the ultimate confrontation and final survival of either system. This is not so much a result of the less than decisive atmosphere created by the makers opting for both systems as it will be of the effect of the increased cost to the consumer. For John Q. Public, the receiver with both systems presents him with a third choice, at a cost greater than either of the other two, and one which must appear to him to be only an interum solution, lasting only a year or two at best, until the confrontation is finally settled. "Why," John Q. asks himself, "should I buy something, part of which will be obsolete in a year or two. I wonder if I might not be better off waiting?" In some ways, however, the arrival of such all-inclusive receivers is a good thing for John Q. since they allow him to do away with all the wiring detailed in Len Feldman's article last month. Additionally, there is much less shelf space taken up and switching is reduced to a single turn of a knob. (Indeed, one receiver shown at CES performed this switching internally and automatically.) All things said and done, this year's CES pointed unequivocally towards a quadraphonic future.

Just how and when the necessary developments will occur is not clear, but it is certain that they will. In the meantime, look for a rash of new four-channel products, especially receivers, on your dealer's shelves.

NEST

Nest is the acronym for the National Electronic Music Service on Tape, a free tape-lending service set up between contributing electronic music studios and a selected audience in the U.S. and Canada. The essential goal of this service is to establish a means of exchanging information regarding any aspect of electronic music. All "dub boxes" accepted by NEST for distribution are listed in a catalog printed in August. Each tape will circulate among a series of listeners requesting that tape. Presently tapes are composed of compositions (with brief time scopes) for electronic music; lectures and pieces for tape and traditional instrument(s) will be added.

To exchange ideas "live," a three-day conference is being organized for electronic music people. Although exact location, dates, and agenda are not yet set, initial canvassing suggests the eastern U.S. in early Spring, 1974, with an agenda made up of discussions by composers on add-on lab design, to notate or not to notate, and better utilization of computers.

NEST's mailing list is comprised of undergraduate schools with active electronic music labs. Potential listeners and/or tape composers wanting a free catalog and more information can contact: David Barnebl, Music Dept., Harpur College, SUNY, Binghamton, N.Y. 13901.

-E.P.

(Source: Audio magazine.)

Also see:

SQ Update--1973 (Jul. 1973)

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