Steve Guttenberg

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Headphone Reviews
Onkyo ES-HF300 Headphone
Steve Guttenberg  |  Oct 24, 2013  |  0 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $179

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Clean styling
Neutral and highly accurate sound
Looks more expensive than it is
Minus
Could have more headband padding

THE VERDICT
Onkyo’s debut outing in the headphone market is near perfect.

We are living in a golden age for headphones. New models and even types of headphones are announced, and a month or two later, there’s another deluge. The waves of entry-level, midrange, and high-end models never let up. But even in the midst of headphone mania, Onkyo’s ES-HF300 distinguishes itself on a number of counts. I’m happy to see that rather than take the shiny plastic design route, the ES-HF300 sports brushed, black anodized aluminum construction, and it looks thoroughly modern and yet classic.

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Vintage Gear
Onkyo TX-SV7M Surround Receiver
Steve Guttenberg  |  Nov 08, 2012  |  0 comments
The Onkyo TX-SV7M is said to be the first Dolby Surround A/V receiver sold in the U.S. and Canada, way back in the all-analog days of 1987. Dolby Surround was the consumer version of the theatrical Dolby Stereo format that was used in movie theaters in the 1980s. Dolby Surround soundtracks were matrix-encoded into stereo formats such as VHS tapes, Laserdiscs, etc. The TX-SV7M was a four-channel receiver, with front left, right, and two surround channel amplifiers (the surrounds were monophonic).
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Paradigm Monitor Series v.5 Speaker System
Steve Guttenberg  |  Feb 11, 2008  |  0 comments
Are you experienced?

At its best, home theater is all about making movies feel so real you'd swear you're there. And not just the wham-bam flicks; some of my best experiences have come from straight-ahead dramas. That was absolutely the case with Breach, a chilling portrait of FBI agent Robert Hanssen, the man who sold countless security secrets to the Soviet Union for over 20 years. Actor Chris Cooper's portrayal of the psychopathic traitor totally mesmerized me, but I also credit Paradigm's fifth revision of their Monitor Series speakers for keeping my attention glued to the screen. Every detail of the sound—from the claustrophobic acoustics of Hanssen's office and the whirring noise of his computers' cooling fans, to the dense traffic snarl of Washington, D.C. streets—were all so effortlessly presented that I never thought about the speakers. That's the Zen of it all. When everything's just right, you don't realize the speakers are there.

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Headphone Reviews
Periodic Audio Mg, Ti, and Be In-Ear Headphones
Steve Guttenberg  |  Oct 31, 2017  |  0 comments
Ti In-Ear Headphones
Performance
Build Quality
Comfort
Value
Be In-Ear Headphones
Performance
Build Quality
Comfort
Value

Mg In-Ear Headphone
Performance
Build Quality
Comfort
Value
PRICE $99, $199, $299

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Clear sound, great bass
Five-year warranty
Now made in the U.S.
Minus
Tangle-prone cable
No phone controls

THE VERDICT
Periodic Audio’s three in-ear headphones—the Mg, Ti, and Be—may only differ in the driver material but sound more different than you might expect.

Periodic Audio is a brand-new company that launched with just three in-ear headphones, the Mg (Magnesium), the Ti (Titanium), and the Be (Beryllium), for $99, $199, and $299, respectively. The three headphones look nearly the same, differing only in the color of the earpiece end caps. The Mg and Ti are similar shades of silver, while the Be is gold. The three models’ 10mm drivers are all mechanically exactly the same but differ in their diaphragm materials—magnesium, titanium, and beryllium—so it made sense to look at all three models as a group.

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The S&V Interview
Peter Gabriel
Steve Guttenberg  |  Oct 28, 2005  |  Published: Sep 28, 2005  |  0 comments
Gabriel talks about his new dvd play, technology, and why ipod won't take over the music world.

Peter Gabriel's career got off the ground when he fronted one of Britain's top prog-rock bands, Genesis. He went solo in 1975. For this interview, we focused on his groundbreaking videos and his lifelong fascination with technology.

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Headphone Reviews
Philips Fidelio X1 Headphones
Steve Guttenberg  |  Jun 18, 2013  |  2 comments

Performance
Features
Comfort
Value
Price: $299 At a Glance: Sinfully comfy • Artfully balanced frequency response • Lavish build quality boasts aluminum trim and real leather

It wasn’t that long ago that Philips wasn’t the first name that would come to mind for audiophile headphones. Things picked up early last year when the company totally revamped its headphone lineup, and the Fidelio Series turned a lot of heads. Philips was in the big leagues and fully competitive with the majors.

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Vintage Gear
Pioneer Kuro Plasma HDTV
Steve Guttenberg  |  Feb 14, 2013  |  9 comments
The Pioneer Kuro plasma display broke new ground upon its introduction in 2007 and was quickly hailed by critics and buyers as The Greatest Television Ever Made. Incredibly, as many Home Theater readers know, the Kuro line that debuted in 2007 was phased out by 2010—which proves that just because you make the best, doesn’t mean people will buy it.
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Vintage Gear
Pioneer VP-1000 LaserDisc Player
Steve Guttenberg  |  Jan 31, 2013  |  1 comments
Magnavox brought the first Laserdisc player, the VH-8000, to market in late 1978, but Pioneer was the company that put the format on the map. Its first player, the VP-1000, debuted in the U.S. in 1980, and later in Japan. I doubt Pioneer ever thought Laserdisc would threaten VHS and Betamax’s dominance in the mass market; Laserdisc was targeted to high-end buyers.
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Pixels & BitsS&V VideosSpecial Features
Pixels & Bits: Episode No. 1
Rob Sabin,  |  Jul 18, 2017  |  6 comments
In this first episode of Sound & Vision's podcast Pixels & Bits, Editor-in-Chief Rob Sabin and Contributing Technical Editor Steve Guttenberg discuss their roots in high-end audio; the affordable Magnepan MMGi magnetic planar speakers (4:00); the problem with "feature glut" (9:00), and whether Sonos sacrificed too much sound quality to gain simplicity with its Playbar soundbar (14:20).

Comments are welcome on these subjects, along with your suggestions for future episodes!

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Pixels & Bits
Pixels & Bits: Episode No. 2
Rob Sabin,  |  Aug 06, 2017  |  1 comments
In Episode 2 of Sound & Vision's Pixels & Bits podcast, editor-in-chief Rob Sabin and contributing technical editor Steve Guttenberg discuss the birth of VHS and the Betamax/VHS videotape format war, spotlight the $3,000 HiFiMan HE1000 magnetic planar headphones (4:24); debate whether $6,000 headphones are really worth it (5:15); and talk about how the longevity of some audio products adds to their value (14:00).

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