LATEST ADDITIONS

PRICE $2,200

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Solid performance
Flexible 4-,2-, or 3-channel setup
Five-year warranty
Minus
Intrusive rear-panel lighting

THE VERDICT
The Avalon G4 may be designed for upgrading systems to the new immersive audio formats, but it's also a fine performer that's flexible enough to satisfy other configurations.

Four may be an even number, but a four-channel amplifier like AudioControl's Avalon G4 might seem like an odd duck to some. With Dolby Atmos and other immersive audio formats becoming more common in the custom install market (where AudioControl, which manufactures products at its Seattle facility, has a heavy presence), however, upgrade-anxious customers will obviously need four additional amp channels to complement the company's existing 5- and 7-channel designs.

The CBS All Access channel is about to offer a lot more content thanks to the ViacomCBS re-merger.

There’s no denying the lure of powerful, deep, visceral bass. How it pulls you into the action. How it scares the living hell out of you. How it makes music real. We were so intrigued by the beastly 6-foot-tall SMSG50 super subwoofer designed and built by Germany’s Ascendo Immersive Audio that we had to dig deeper. We wanted to know what it takes to design and build a subwoofer of this caliber — one capable of producing peak levels up to 140 dB and deliver 105 dB of sound pressure at 5 Hz. Is a subwoofer that weighs 441 pounds and uses a single 50-inch (!) driver to plumb the infrasonic depths really better than a model of more manageable size with maybe a few 18-inch drivers? We caught up with Geoffrey Heinzel, partner and director of international sales and marketing for Ascendo, to learn more about this modern marvel.

Which one's Pink? It's a question the mighty members of Pink Floyd have answered more than once throughout their unmatched 50-plus-year career. No matter who's been at the helm—the wide-eyed lysergic-minded guitarist/vocalist Syd Barrett, the uncompromising iconoclast bassist/vocalist Roger Waters, or the melodic linchpin guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour — the mantra of delivering music that's always high fidelity, first class has been at the core of Pink Floyd's production values from the very beginning.