Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful films ever photographed, writer/director Terrence Malick’s second feature film, Days of Heaven, is a dramatically minimalist affair elevated by its often jaw-dropping visuals, captured perfectly on 4K Blu-ray.
Upon inception, Alice Cooper was conceived more as a group construct, not just a moniker for one person. The name itself was intended to encompass an all-for-one band concept, but it was also concurrently adopted by lead singer Vincent Furnier, who soon enough embodied the id and ego of Alice Cooper to such a degree that he transmogrified that persona into his fully becoming one and the same. Six-plus decades later, Alice Cooper is still going strong as the king of shock-glam metal to this very day — and his rabid fanbase wouldn’t have it any other way.
AT A GLANCE Plus
Inexpensive
Small for 15-inch subwoofer
Deep, rich sound
Minus
Generic appearance
Takes prodding to wake from standby mode
THE VERDICT
If you want the horsepower of a 15-inch subwoofer but can only accommodate an enclosure that typically comes with a 12-inch sub, the Starke Sound SW15 might be where your search ends.
Subwoofers, an essential component for every home theater system. Unless you have an extraordinary set of speakers the same holds true for a two-channel setup, you need a sub to reinforce the bottom end. While their contribution is critical for the reproduction of full-range sound, for the most part they aren’t much to look at.
Often little more than square black cabinets, subwoofers rarely enhance the aesthetics of your HT room. I’ve reviewed over 50 of them in the past 12 years and in that time very few have visually differentiated themselves from the rest. The Starke Sound SW15 is no exception from an appearance perspective, but can it stand out from the crowd in some other way?
Screen Innovations is now shipping an improved, second-generation version of its acoustically transparent Maestro screen that is optimized for high-resolution laser projection up to 4K and beyond.
Elac, the German maker of high-quality speakers, has announced a special edition of its popular Debut ConneX powered bookshelf model featuring a minimalist aesthetic created by the Brooklyn-based fashion label Adsum.
Since the early days of primitive computing, humanity has pondered the possibilities of advanced computers ultimately taking over and rendering their creators irrelevant. Most of you will recognize the quote in the headline as originally spoken in the 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. It seems more relevant today than ever.