SV Staff

As we head into a long, lazy July 4th Weekend, we’ve encapsulated a formidable list of recent Top Picks. Half of our Picks are devoted to an eclectic mix of wireless speakers, including one built for use outdoors. The other half includes what may be the world’s best TV, a couple of high-end headphones, a bad-ass budget subwoofer, a crazy cool micro tube amp, and an awesome AVR. Enjoy the holiday…and the gear.

As we kick back to celebrate and reflect on the birth of our great nation, we’ve pulled together a quick-reference guide to our Top Picks for the month of June. It was a generous period, netting nine outstanding products, ranging from a bullet-proof outdoor speaker to $50 earbuds that sound shockingly good to a lower cost alternative to LG’s flagship W7 series 4K OLED TVs. There’s plenty to ponder here for your summer short list.

McIntosh MCT500 SACD/CD Transport
Audiophiles with to-die-for disc collections will appreciate McIntosh’s latest audio marvel: a high-performance SACD/CD transport that plays “all common disc types” as well as audio files stored on a disc or USB drive. Supported file formats include AAC, AIFF, ALAC, DSD (up to DSD128), FLAC, MP3, WAV (up to 192 kHz/24 bit), and WMA. Of course, the MCT500 is a transport—not a player—so it must be connected to a preamp, receiver, or integrated amplifier with digital inputs and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC).

3D movies have simultaneously reached their apex and nadir. Canadian teen pop sensation Justin Bieber is getting his own feature-length, widespread-release documentary film, and it's going to be in 3D. It gets weirder, too. Paramount is in talks...