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Surround Processor Reviews
Marantz AV10 15.4-Channel AV Preamp/Processor Review
Mark Henninger  |  Jan 31, 2024  |  2 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $7,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Balanced outputs for all channels
Supports four subwoofers
Audyssey MultEQ XT32 with Directional Bass
Dirac Live Bass Control
Easy on-screen setup
Minus
Antiquated front panel interface
Dirac features cost extra

THE VERDICT
An engineering marvel from Marantz with just about everything you could ask for in an AV processor. Just add an amp and speakers for total immersion.

The AV preamp and surround processor is the less well-known sibling of the AV receiver. The main difference being that processors don’t have built-in amplification. This is a reasonable approach because as a rule amplifiers last a rather long time, and don’t come obsoleted by things like new immersive sound formats or updates to HDMI standards. Going the AV separate route also lets you tailor the amplification to the speaker system whereas AV receivers are forced to split the difference between whatever speakers are connected to it and hope for the best.

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A/V Veteran
The Maestro and the Cellist
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jan 30, 2024  |  5 comments
I've commented before on finding interesting posts on YouTube. Though marred by incessant commercial interruptions (I keep my TV's remote close enough to exit the promotions as soon as possible) that service's offerings cover endless topics: sports, history, current events, music, and much more...Several recent British documentaries, for example, covered the hazards found in English homes of different eras...I recently discovered another far more serious entry. Running for 86 minutes, The Maestro and the Cellist of Auschwitz (a German production with subtitles and translations where needed) covers the very different stories of two musicians during World War II...The maestro of the title here was Germany's Willhelm Furtwangler, arguably one of the most storied and feted symphonic and opera conductors of the 20th Century.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Naim’s New High-end Streaming Amp Packs a Punch
SV Staff  |  Jan 30, 2024  |  0 comments
U.K.-based Naim Audio today introduced a powerful addition to its popular Uniti line of high-end streaming amplifiers.
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Music Disc Reviews
Remaster Class – Soundgarden: Badmotorfinger
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 29, 2024  |  4 comments

Burning Dinosaur Bones

Soundgarden was catching fire. The proto-headbanging Seattle-bred foursome began to emerge from the misnomered grunge ooze with their second LP, September 1989’s aptly named Louder Than Love, with tracks like “Loud Love” and “Big Dumb Sex” deftly adding observational tact to the band’s already thunderous bouillabaisse. And then, in October of that forever-hallowed alt-rock emergence year of 1991, Soundgarden swerved into even more progressive-leaning hard-metal lanes with the unrelenting Badmotorfinger.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
PhaseTech Introduces Variable-Length Soundbar
Bob Ankosko  |  Jan 29, 2024  |  2 comments
PhaseTech, the American speaker specialist known for developing and patenting one of the world’s most widely used tweeter designs in 1967 — the soft-dome tweeter — has introduced an adjustable, three-channel soundbar that can be matched to the width and color of any TV for a seamless look.
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Spatial Audio File
Ryan Ulyate Opens the Curtains on the Atmos Mix of His Grammy-Nominated Solo Album, Act 3
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 26, 2024  |  1 comments

With apologies to the late, great Tom Petty, we do know how it feels to be Ryan Ulyate, thanks to the open book approach the acclaimed producer/engineer has taken with the songwriting and subject matter that dominates his very first solo album, Act 3, which has also been nominated for a Best Immersive Audio Album Grammy. During a recent Zoom interview, music editor Mike Mettler and Ulyate discussed how he learned about his Grammy nomination, why the immersive Atmos palette gives him the additional space needed to take more of an orchestral approach with his mixes, and why the cover image for Act 3 is the perfect full-circle choice to best reflect his life’s work. . .

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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Prey
Ralph Potts  |  Jan 26, 2024  |  1 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras

Prey is the latest installment in the iconic Predator film franchise. Set in the year 1719, it tells the story of a young woman, Naru, a skilled yet untested warrior of the Comanche Nation who has been raised in the shadow of some of the most legendary hunters to roam the Great Plains. When a mysterious danger arises, she fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly evolved Predators to visit Earth.

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Audio Video News
Lowest Prices Ever: SVS Is Closing Out its Ultra Series
SV Staff  |  Jan 26, 2024  |  0 comments
SVS is running a closeout sale on its popular Ultra Series speakers to make room for the new Ultra Evolution Series unveiled at CES 2024. All models will be sold at the “lowest prices ever” until inventory is depleted.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Hisense Launches 100” 4K TV with Crazy 60% Super Bowl Discount
SV Staff  |  Jan 25, 2024  |  3 comments
This story was updated on 1/27/24.

China’s Hisense is making a splash in the New Year, launching its first TV of 2024 — the 100-inch U76N — at the sharply discounted price of what was first $3,000 and, as of Friday, was dropped to $2,000.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
‘Open-Ear Headphones’ Keep You Connected to Your Surroundings
Bob Ankosko  |  Jan 25, 2024  |  0 comments
At a time when everyone is talking about immersive audio experiences, Japan’s New Wave Maker (NWM) is going in the opposite direction with “open ear headphones” built around its proprietary Personalized Sound Zone Technology (PSZ).
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