Esoteric tube gear manufacturer Manley Laboratories has begun shipping the new MAHI monoblock amplifier. The MAHI is an update of the EL84-tube-based 50 watt monoblock design Manley has been producing under one name or another since 1993.

This latest revision comes in all-new styling, looking like a mini version of Manley’s Snapper 100 Watt mono amp. Conceptually (and electronically) however, the MAHI is a mono version of the Stingray stereo amp introduced last year.

Like the Stingray, the new MAHI can be switched between ultra-linear operation (40 Watts) and triode mode (20 Watts). It is designed around a quartet of EL84/6BQ5 tubes, driven by a 6414 dual triode driver and a 12AT7WA input dual triode.

“The Ei Yugo EL84 has been one of our very favorite tubes for many years,” says Manley CEO EveAnna Manley. “They are extremely long lasting and reliable, and can be considered the smaller brother of the much-beloved EL34: really quick-sounding both in the bass and especially in the top end. And of course this has a lot to do with our Manley Output transformer, the same one we build for the Manley Stingray.”

Another key design feature is the MAHI’s increased B+ rail capacity. The earlier Manley 50 watt monoblocks had around 49 Joules of energy storage in the B+ rail. Now the MAHI’s have nearly 180 Joules of energy storage, and you can hear this improvement especially in the bass region: tighter, faster, deeper.

The Manley MAHI monoblocks are now available with a suggested retail price of $2500 (US) per pair.

Manley MAHI Features and Specifications

• Vacuum Tubes: 4 x EL84 Output, l x 12AT7WA Input, 1 x 6414 Driver
• Output Power: 40 Watts
• Freq. Response +.5 dB: 10 Hz – 90 KHz
• Input Sensitivity: 460 mV nominal
• Input Impedance: 100 Kohm
• Load Impedance: 5 ohm
• S/N Ratio @50W: -80 dB
• Dynamic Range: 86dB
• Power Consumption: 100 Watts (idle)
• 168 Watts (Full Power)
• Dimensions: W=12″, D=10″, H=5″
• Shipping Weight: 17 Ibs. each

Manley Laboratories Web Site

In an arrangement expected to close by today, Mackie Designs has agreed to an equity investment by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, a Boca Raton-based private investment firm.

Related to the restructuring, Mackie has voluntarily delisted its publicly-traded common stock from the NASDAQ exchange, and has obtained approval to trade the shares (MKIE) on NASD’s Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board, or OTC Bulletin Board.

Mackie is widely known and highly regarded in the professional audio field as a leading manufacturer of consoles, mixers, studio and stage monitors, power amplifiers, audio processing software and control devices, for sound reinforcement, recording studio, installed sound, and custom home install markets. Company brands include EAW and RCF Precision, in addition to the Mackie label.

Sun Capital is acquiring approximately 9.8 million shares of Mackie common stock, roughly 65% of Mackie’s total common stock outstanding, through the purchase of approximately 7.4 million outstanding shares from certain selling shareholders and approximately 2.4 million newly issued shares for a total of about $10 million in cash.

“We are excited about this transaction,” said Mackie CEO Jamie Engen. “Upon closing, Mackie will receive approximately $6.3 million in fresh capital. Just as important, we also expect to benefit from the active support and hands-on participation of Sun Capital in assisting us to improve existing operations and to pursue potential new opportunities.”

Mr. Engen added that although company founder Greg Mackie is selling a portion of his shares in the transaction with Sun Capital, he will remain a shareholder and will enter into an exclusive consulting agreement with Mackie at closing.

Speaking for Sun Capital Partners, vice president Jason Neimark commented: “We are excited about our investment – Mackie has a strong brand, loyal customer base, and solid work force. We look forward to working with the management team to fully leverage these strong attributes and to position the company for long-term success.”

Mr. Engen adds, “We are focused on reducing costs and increasing productivity throughout the organization, including the rationalization of Mackie’s global manufacturing operations, R&D, and product lines. We are making progress in these efforts, and welcome the involvement of Sun Capital as an active partner in the next phase of our growth.”

Mackie Designs Web Site

The Rhapsody online music service needs more subscribers, so it’s deal time for consumers.

To encourage music lovers to explore and enjoy Rhapsody’s CD-quality music and Internet radio programming, Listen.com and Lycos Music and are offering a “Free Access Week” from February 13-21, 2003.

During this time, you can test-drive Rhapsody for free, with no credit card required. Customers who subscribe during this week will also get 50% off their first three months of service, which brings the price down to $4.95 (US) per month.

“This special offer will enable a wider audience of Lycos Music users to explore their musical passions and enjoy more music through Rhapsody,” says Katie Rae, vice president of product marketing for the U.S. portal of Terra Lycos.

“The number of subscribers who have signed up for Lycos Rhapsody has far exceeded our expectations in their willingness to pay for high quality, value-added services like Rhapsody,” adds Ms. Rae. “This promotion makes it even more convenient – and more affordable – for our users to try.”

At the same time, Listen.com has launched a special promotion that will allow Rhapsody subscribers, both free and paid, to mix, match and burn custom-mixed CDs of their favorite music for just $0.49 per track.

This is the lowest per-burn price available to U.S. consumers through any of the new generation of digital music subscription services.

The special promotional price, half of the normal 99-cent per track cost of burning music through Rhapsody, applies to the service’s entire library of burnable content, including music from the digital catalogs of BMG, EMI, Universal, Warner, Naxos and more than 30 independent labels.

Rhapsody is the only online music subscription service to give subscribers the flexibility to burn individual tracks on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Rhapsody gives subscribers unlimited access to the world’s largest library of digital music, spanning more than 285,000 tracks and 20,000 albums of material from all five major music companies and more than 100 independent labels.

Rhapsody subscribers can burn full albums or custom mix CDs, build their own custom Internet radio stations, listen to professionally-programmed stations, and browse extensive music information and editorial recommendations.

“More than 75% of people who try Rhapsody become subscribers, so we know that our users are very satisfied with the service,” said Dave Williams, vice president of product management, Listen.com.

“Offering 49-cent CD burning lets us reward these existing subscribers, and provides a great incentive for new people to try RHAPSODY. Lycos Music is a great place for this kind of promotion because Lycos helps us quickly reach a large audience of passionate music fans.”

Rhapsody Web Site

AudioWorld Review of Rhapsody

Microphone manufacturer Shure Incorporated today announced the purchase of its long-time United Kingdom distribution center, HW International, from Wilton Investments.

The new Shure subsidiary will keep all current employees, as well as the distribution of its other existing product lines, Phonic, QSC, and PreSonus. Dennis Harburn will continue as Managing Director at HW, and will report directly to Shure Europe GmbH management.

“The purchase of HW International provides an opportunity for Shure to have more direct contact with our end users in the UK, one of Europe’s largest markets,” said Mike McGinn, Shure’s Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and Sales. “This will make Shure even more competitive in the UK.”

Markus Winkler, Managing Director of Shure Europe added, “From the standpoint of our UK customers, the change in ownership of HW will be transparent, as we will continue to utilize the excellent staff that HW has assembled, and continue to carry the same product lines.”

Shure Web Site

The latest Arbitron MeasureCast Ratings of Internet Radio broadcasters, for the week of January 6 – 12, 2003, show that MusicMatch Artist Match maintains its position as the number one individual Web channel with 291,602 hours of Total Time Spent Listening (TTSL).

Internet-only Web channel RADIOIO Eclectic was ranked number two with 283,772 hours of TTSL. Virgin Radio was ranked number three with 278,136 hours of TTSL.

Three classical stations – WQXR-FM, Beethoven.com and KING-FM – made it into the top ten channels for the week. WQXR-FM was ranked number five at 226,620 hours of TTSL. Internet-only station Beethoven.com ranked number eight with 116,428 hours of TTSL. KING-FM was ranked number nine with 102,879 hours of TTSL.

MusicMatch also dominates the rankings of Webcast Networks (as opposed to individual channels), weighing in at 1,221,801 hours of TTSL. StreamAudio ranked number two among networks with 1,004,167 hours of TTSL. Clear Channel Worldwide was ranked number three with 633,596 hours of TTSL.

Internet Radio Listening Index and Domographic Highlights

Arbitron’s MeasureCast Internet Radio Listening Index increased for the week of January 6. Since the beginning of 2003, the Total Time Spent Listening to online stations measured by Arbitron’s MeasureCast Ratings grew 91 percent. The index is a representation of the trend in the Total Time Spent Listening to a spectrum of online radio stations.

• The peak listening day was Tuesday, January 7 with 19 percent of the week’s online listening
• 74 percent of weekly online listening took place between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific time
• 14 percent of the week’s total listening took place during the weekend
• 86 percent of the measured listeners were between the ages of 18 and 5
• 70 percent of listeners were men; 30 percent were women
• In the U.S., 33 percent of listeners resided in the South; 31 percent in the West; 19 percent in the Northeast; and 17 percent in the Midwest

Top 10 Internet Radio Networks (Jan. 6 – Jan. 12)

Rank	Company	TTSL	Cume
1	MUSICMATCH	1,221,801	370,441
2	StreamAudio	1,004,167	154,569
3	Clear Channel Worldwide	633,596	129,985
4	Warp Radio	617,326	102,556
5	StreamGuys	511,787	120,288
6	Moontaxi	505,149	72,623
7	Internet Radio, Inc.	485,723	189,285
8	SurferNETWORK	481,315	44,604
9	Virgin Radio	445,106	73,355
10	Radio Free Virgin	404,099	48,205

The Arbitron MeasureCast Weekly Top 25 (Jan. 6 – Jan. 12)
(Individual Internet Radio Channels)

Rank	Station/Format	Owner/Network/URL	TTSL	Cume
1	MUSICMATCH Artist Match (Internet-only) Miscellaneous	MUSICMATCH	291,602	129,662
2	RADIOIO Eclectic (Internet-only) Adult Alternative	RADIOIO / LimeLight Networks	283,772	56,601
3	Virgin Radio (London) Hot Adult Contemporary	Virgin Radio New Media	278,136	43,357
4	JazzFM / 102.2 (London) Jazz	Guardian Media Group	242,298	33,174
5	WQXR-FM/96.3 (New York) Classical	New York Times	226,620	35,080
6	MUSICMATCH Top Hits (Internet-only) CHR / Top 40	MUSICMATCH	150,527	90,529
7	KPLU-FM/88.5 (Tacoma) Jazz	Pacific Lutheran University	134,524	20,961
8	Beethoven.com (Internet-only) Classical	Beethoven.com	116,428	17,032
9	KING-FM/98.1 (Seattle) Classical	Classic Radio Inc. Real Broadcast Networks	102,879	15,326
10	3WK Undergroundradio (Internet-only) Alternative Rock	3WK	94,700	25,540
11	KNAC.COM (Internet-only) Pure Rock	KNAC.COM	91,918	18,314
12	MUSICMATCH Artist On Demand (Internet-only) Miscellaneous	MUSICMATCH	88,758	39,475
13	WXPN-FM/88.5 (Philadelphia) Adult Alternative	University of Pennsylvania / StreamGuys	85,097	8,414
14	Virgin Radio Classic Rock (Internet-only) Classic Rock	Virgin Radio New Media	77,664	13,426
15	MUSICMATCH Soft Hits (Internet-only) Soft Hits	MUSICMATCH	64,330	16,023
16	BlueGrass Country (Internet-only) Country	American University / Warp Radio	64,322	15,252
17	ChoiceRadio Top 40 (Internet-only) CHR/Top 40	Internet Radio, Inc.	62,371	35,993
18	MUSICMATCH Country Hits (Internet-only) Country Hits	MUSICMATCH	55,093	17,033
19	WLTW-FM/106.7 (New York) Soft Adult Contemporary	Clear Channel Worldwide	54,002	9,001
20	ChoiceRadio Country (Internet-only) Country	Internet Radio, Inc.	52,927	22,280
21	The Tom Joyner Morning Show (Dallas) News / Talk	ABC Radio Networks	52,333	8,168
22	Moontaxi Top 40 (Internet-only) CHR/Top 40	Moontaxi	51,300	15,799
23	ChoiceRadio New Age (Internet-only) New Age	Internet Radio, Inc.	51,125	19,986
24	Country Bear (Internet-only) Country	Standef Broadcasting Corp / Warp Radio	48,422	13,446
25	KFI-AM/640 (Los Angeles) Talk Radio	Clear Channel Worldwide	48,399	13,313