Rob Sabin

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Rob Sabin | Dec 26, 2012 | 11 comments

Editor-in-chief Rob Sabin reminisces about a meeting with superstar amplifier designer Dan D’Agostino and lessons learned from a demonstration he'll never forget.

Streaming Device Reviews

Amped Wireless REC10 Compact High-Power Wi-Fi Range Extender

Rob Sabin | Jan 13, 2014 | 0 comments

Performance
Build Quality
Value

PRICE $70

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Small, concealable form factor
Easy installation with good documentation
Excellent performance

Minus
May cost as much as a new router

THE VERDICT
There may be other options for improving your Wi-Fi, but the REC10 represents an exceptionally simple and effective path to robust video streaming on SmartTVs and tablets.

With Internet-connected smart TVs flying off the shelves during the holiday season and into Super Bowl Sunday, many consumers may find themselves trying to stream music and video to their new sets from Pandora, Netflix, Amazon VOD, et. al. But relatively few will have a wired ethernet connection near their televisions, and nothing can dumb down a smart TV faster than a weak Wi-Fi signal. Weak Wi-Fi can have immediate and noticeable effects on your audio and video quality. To compound the problem, you may not even know what’s causing them. An inability to connect promptly to your desired services may indicate that your router is too far away. But a laptop in the same room might have no trouble at all loading web pages, and a reasonable person might think the stuttering, buffering, or lack of resolution on your TV screen is a function of heavy Web traffic during peak periods, bad infrastructure at your Internet provider, or a technical failing of the playback device.

Streaming Device Reviews

Amped Wireless REC10 Compact High-Power Wi-Fi Range Extender

Rob Sabin | Jan 13, 2014 | 0 comments

Performance
Build Quality
Value

PRICE $70

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Small, concealable form factor
Easy installation with good documentation
Excellent performance

Minus
May cost as much as a new router

THE VERDICT
There may be other options for improving your Wi-Fi, but the REC10 represents an exceptionally simple and effective path to robust video streaming on SmartTVs and tablets.

Accessory Reviews

Amped Wireless REC10 Compact High-Power Wi-Fi Range Extender

Rob Sabin | Jan 14, 2014 | 0 comments

Performance
Build Quality
Value

PRICE $70

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Small, concealable form factor
Easy installation with good documentation
Excellent performance

Minus
May cost as much as a new router

THE VERDICT
There may be other options for improving your Wi-Fi, but the REC10 represents an exceptionally simple and effective path to robust video streaming on SmartTVs and tablets.

Home Movie Theaters

Anatomy of an Install: Your Steps To Home Theater Nirvana

Rob Sabin | Feb 03, 2012 | 3 comments

Any room with a TV, a surround sound audio system, and a mess of wires snaking across the floor can become a home theater once the lights go down. But a truly integrated room that fits your lifestyle and makes you proud to show it off takes some work. Whether you do it yourself or bring in a pro, the steps to get there are always the same. This article will help you understand the process. Building a home theater isn’t rocket science, but it does require a broad mix of knowledge and skills, and a willingness to do your homework before you begin. If after reading this, you’re not confident you can handle the job, you should strongly consider hiring a pro who does this day in and day out.

Editor's Eye

Another Good One: Why I Love Our Top Picks of the Year

Rob Sabin | Jan 04, 2013 | 1 comments

I love the walk down (short-term) memory lane that accompanies the preparation of our annual Top Picks of the Year feature. At the forefront of that is the great pride I take in revisiting all the hard work our reviewers and edit/art staff have put in throughout the prior 12 months.

Smart Speaker Reviews Wireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews

Apple HomePod Wireless Smart Speaker Review

Rob Sabin | Apr 11, 2018 | 4 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

PRICE $349

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Superb sonics with extraordinary bass
Great build quality
AirPlay capable
Easy setup
Minus
Integrated music streaming restricted to Apple Music
No bluetooth
More limited smarts versus competition
No wired input for TV viewing

THE VERDICT
Apple has created the best-sounding small speaker we’ve heard to date, but its Apple-centricity and immaturity as a smart device may deter some buyers.

From conception through launch, the Apple HomePod speaker was six years in development. That’s a long time to bring to fruition something as ubiquitous and seemingly simplistic as a wireless tabletop speaker. If we account for the many poor examples of the breed, we can acknowledge that a truly excellent wireless speaker might require some extra time to create...but six years? The HomePod was so long in coming that the “smart speaker” with builtin voice assistant that it eventually became hadn’t yet been invented (by rival Amazon) when the project was begun. Which, I’m certain, delayed it even further.

Editor's Eye Track One

Are U Ready For 4K?

Rob Sabin | Feb 23, 2015 | 7 comments

UHD Blu-ray and HDR on the Horizon

As I reflect back on our annual pilgrimage to CES last month in LasVegas, the most exciting news for home theater buffs was around Ultra HD (UHD), both the launch of the first HDR (high dynamic range) UHD televisions and the announcement of details on forthcoming UHD Blu-ray Discs.

Editor's Eye

Are You Ready to Step into Our VR Future?

Rob Sabin | Jun 30, 2016 | 0 comments

A scene from 1993’s virtual reality thriller Arcade

Working on our July/August print edition we had fun with some categories we don’t normally follow closely. Yours truly got curious enough about so-called pico projectors to call in a few for a test. Watch for our survey, which includes two remarkable projectors that actually slip into your breast pocket, and two “minibeamers” that resemble the big-boy home theater projectors we test year round, just shrunk way, way down.

Editor's Eye Audio Video News

Are You the Victim of a Silent Home?

Rob Sabin | Mar 01, 2017 | Published: Mar 02, 2017 | 0 comments

If something seems off-kilter in your life—for example, you've been feeling alienated and isolated from your family, or you're wondering why you're not having enough sex—Sonos thinks it may have found the answer.

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