Mark Fleischmann

Audio Video News
No TV? We'll Read a Magazine
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 11, 2007  |  0 comments
Not all owners of analog television sets are planning to make the transition to digital broadcasting, according to a survey by the Consumer Electronics Association. Twenty-two of them plan to just let their TVs go dark and find something else to do.
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Audio Video News
DG Loses the DRM
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 10, 2007  |  0 comments
Deutsche Grammophon, the historic classical label owned by the Universal Music Group, has become the largest one of its kind to stop using digital rights management for online music sales.
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Audio Video News
Holiday CE Sales Growth Slowing
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 07, 2007  |  0 comments
Consumer electronics products saw a six percent sales increase during the week after Thanksgiving. Why isn't this good news for the industry? Because it marks the first time growth has been measured in mere single digits since NPD started tracking data six years ago. In contrast, 2006 saw a 12 percent hike in dollar volume, and in 2005 it was 15 percent.
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Audio Video News
Blockbuster Struggles for Survival
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 06, 2007  |  0 comments
Blockbuster is taking serious punches and hanging on the ropes. First one of the two stores in my neighborhood closed (always a bad sign). Then came the announcement that earnings had slid from $5.5 billion in 2006 to $1.2 billion in the first three quarters of this year--ouch. Now along comes CEO Jim Keynes with a rescue plan.
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Audio Video News
DTV Stations Move Around
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 05, 2007  |  0 comments
UHF will not be the exclusive home of DTV channels following the transition from analog broadcasting. Some will remain on VHF, contrary to what's been widely reported.
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Home Theater Systems Reviews
Harman Kardon HS 300 Integrated Home Theater System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 15, 2007  |  0 comments
Dr. Harman meets Dr. Bronner—all one!

Every day, I wash with Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. A soap-

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On-Wall Speaker Reviews
Piega AP-3 Speaker System and Arcam Solo Movie 5.1 System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 15, 2007  |  0 comments
Flat meets flat.

The big trend is smallness. Flat is the new phat. Manufacturers who want space in your home compete most effectively by taking up less of it. And, in case you hadn't heard, less is more.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
DCM Cinema2 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 15, 2007  |  0 comments
A budget sub/sat set for the divinely inclined.

Nowhere is the universal human desire to get something for nothing more evident than in consumer electronics. While I'm always amenable to reviewing mass-market gear that offers high value to the consumer, I also spend a large portion of my time convincing more discerning listeners that an investment in higher-priced gear is really worth it. Why, then, would I work up a froth of enthusiasm for a modest subwoofer/satellite set like the DCM Cinema2? It would be convenient simply to say that I heard it and liked it, but the truth doesn't always lend itself to a glib lead.

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On-Wall Speaker Reviews
Paradigm Millenia Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 15, 2007  |  0 comments
A new line from a champion.

The loudspeaker sat in his doctor's examining room. His weight was up, and the results of the cholesterol test were not good.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
DALI IKON 2 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 15, 2007  |  Published: Oct 15, 2007  |  0 comments
Tie a rectangular ribbon.

Tweeter is the name of a speaker driver, an audio retail chain, and a Warner Brothers cartoon character. No, wait, that would be Tweety Bird. However whimsical the name may sound, the tweeter plays a crucial role in speaker design. An average one delivers not only high frequencies, as the chirpy name suggests, but also a significant share of the upper midrange. It's possible to design a loudspeaker without a tweeter. But most speakers depend on their tweeters to deliver harmonics, detail, airiness, and all frequencies above the crossover to the lower drivers.

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