Rob Sabin

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Review: Ultimate Ears UE 18 Pro Earphones
Rob Sabin  |  Nov 15, 2010  |  0 comments
Key Features
$1350 Ultimateears.com
• 4-way design with six proprietary balanced armature drivers in each earpiece
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Bluetooth Speaker ReviewsWireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Riva WAND Wireless Music System Review
Rob Sabin  |  Nov 21, 2017  |  0 comments

Arena Wireless Speaker
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

Festival Wireless Speaker
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE Festival, $499; Arena, $249

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Excellent build and sound quality
Chromecast, AirPlay, Bluetooth built-in
Away mode and optional battery for portability
Minus
Chromecast multiroom interface

THE VERDICT
Riva Audio continues a tradition of excellent sound quality with the WAND series, the company’s first wireless multiroom speakers.

I first met Riva Audio founder Rikki Farr and chief engineer (now also president) Don North in the fall of 2014 when they marched into Sound & Vision’s New York City conference room to demo their first product, a Bluetooth speaker called the Turbo X. North was a youthful, glasses-wearing geek who had just enough of the right credentials and tech swagger to suggest he really knew what he was doing.

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Portable Player Reviews
Royole Moon 3D Mobile Theater Review
Rob Sabin  |  May 01, 2018  |  5 comments

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $800

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Excellent video and audio quality
Smart ergonomics
Solid build quality
Minus
Potential for viewer fatigue
Battery gets hot
Propensity toward video noise with low-bitrate streams

THE VERDICT
Royole’s Moon successfully pulls off a serious home theater experience in a portable, wearable package.

Quick story: Back in the mid ’90s, I was the editor of a gadget review magazine. As long as a product was geeky enough and ran on AC or batteries, it was fair game for a test. This led me to bring home a variety of doodads that had nothing to do with audio/video— a self-cleaning litter box, a sports radar gun, et al. One day I walked in with what was claimed to be a “personal air conditioner,” basically a black beanbag neck wrap that had an imbedded metal cooling strip; the idea was that applying the band to your neck would keep you chilled in hot weather. When I tried it on for my wife, she walked by dismissively without even pausing. “That’s a good look for you,” she said.

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CEDIA 2011
RTI SURFiR Tackles The Problem With iPads
Rob Sabin  |  Sep 11, 2011  |  Published: Sep 12, 2011  |  0 comments
Manufacturers of control systems and many other products have embraced the iPad in a big way, building apps that turn these small flatpanel computers into easy-to-use, high powered touchscreen controllers. But the iPad's (or iPhone's) strength as a do-it-all device is also a weakness if you're going to use it as a remote control. The reality is that these multipurpose machines can be quite inconvenient if at the moment you need to switch an input on your receiver or press the Pause button for your disc player your tablet isn't woken up, unlocked, and running the correct page of the control app in its open window. And that assumes the device hasn't walked away altogether with another family member who needs it for web browsing or a round of Fruit Ninja. RTI's solution, believe it or not, is a second inexpensive remote to keep around as a backup. The new SURFiR ($149, shown next to the iPad) is an option for anyone using one of RTI's controllers and the company's RTIPanel app for Apple iDevices. Unlike the company's usual remotes, the SURFiR requires no programming, and system commands you execute with it automatically update the RTIPanel display—the two track each other. Apps are great, but if you're busy looking at email and just want to make a quick volume adjustment, the SURFiR companion remote is intended to provide quick, easy, tactile control at low cost.

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CEDIA 2012
Runco Brings XtremeProjection to CEDIA
Rob Sabin  |  Sep 07, 2012  |  0 comments
Runco is in Indianapolis with several new DLP front projectors across a range of price points, including three models in its new XtremeProjection Series targeted at high-end installations, the X-200i ($14,995), the X-400d ($34,995), and the X-450d ($39,995). The X-200i features integrated processing, while the two top models ship with the DC-300 Dimension Digital Controller, an outboard processor said to be optimized to enhance 3D performance. The X-200i, shown here and demonstrated for press on Thursday, is a single-chip DLP projector rated for 1430 ANSI lumens and up to 50 foot-lamberts of light output. It threw some impressive images of Kung Fu Panda on a 120-in Stewart Studiotek 130 screen.
S&V: I Love You, Scarlet
Rob Sabin  |  Jun 09, 2008  |  0 comments
The Short Form
$2,600 ($3,199 list) / LGUSA.COM / 800-243-0000
Snapshot
A very good picture and sexy styling add up to a solid recommendation for LG's new LCD
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CEDIA 2015
Salamander’s Slim Cabinet Is Apartment Dwellers’ Delight
Rob Sabin  |  Oct 15, 2015  |  Published: Oct 16, 2015  |  0 comments
Salamander Systems is at CEDIA offering up a variety of enhancments to its furniture and accessory line, among them a new roll-out component rack system for its cabinetry, a new high quality premium leather offering for its theater chairs, and the slim-profile lowboy pictured above.

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Custom Installation How-To
Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc Player
Rob Sabin  |  Sep 01, 2006  |  0 comments
The Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc player had been out just a couple of days when my phone began ringing with some interesting reports from the field. It didn't take long to realize that this would be no ordinary product launch.
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Custom Installation How-To
Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc Player: Features & Hook-up
Rob Sabin  |  Aug 31, 2006  |  0 comments
If you've read our review of the Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc player - the world's first - you know what we thought of the picture and sound quality with the first batch of Blu-ray discs. But there's a lot more to this box than what comes out of it. Here's a run-down on some key features and few details you should know about hooking it up.

PACKAGED GOODS

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Soundbar Reviews
Samsung HW-Q990B Atmos Soundbar Review
Rob Sabin  |  Feb 08, 2023  |  1 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
11.1.4-channel Atmos/DTS:X with wireless rear surrounds and sub
Audiophile sonics for movies and music
Superb dynamics
Extensive adjustability
SmartThings app for control

Minus
Some functions hard to reach with remote
No Atmos/DTS:X indicator on app

THE VERDICT
Samsung's HW-Q990B is a high-performing Atmos soundbar that easily substitutes for a full AVR-speaker setup.

I've had the liberty of reviewing some very high-performance soundbars in the last couple of years that take advantage of the height information in object-based Atmos or DTS:X soundtracks to effect a more engaging soundstage. These are sweet-sounding systems adept at both movies and music, but all were equipped with only a pair of front-height channel drivers that bounce off the ceiling and no rear surrounds.

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