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SmartStream
Free Arts & Culture Streaming: From Shakespeare at the Globe to the Met, and More
Barb Gonzalez  |  Apr 08, 2020  |  0 comments
As many of the world's famous venues have been temporarily shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing requirements, they are turning to streaming of classic performances. To satisfy fans, and perhaps attract those who haven't attended a show, the theaters are offering free streaming of videos for a "limited engagement."
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Accessory Reviews
Record Doctor VI Record Cleaning Machine Review
Michael Trei  |  Apr 08, 2020  |  1 comments

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $300

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Digs deep to leave records sparkling
Far more effective than brush cleaners
Affordable
Minus
Hands-on manual operation
Loud vacuum motor

THE VERDICT
The Record Doctor VI is a bare-bones wet record cleaning system that delivers superb results at a bargain price.

It's easy to dismiss the recent resurgence of interest in vinyl records as a youth-driven phenomenon, with millennials embracing vinyl more for its hipness factor than for the great sound that it can deliver. But in the course of my day job setting up and maintaining high-end turntables, I'm finding that much of the rekindled attention is actually coming from my fellow Boomers and Gen-Xers. Some of us never stopped playing our records. Others, it seems, simply stashed theirs in the basement decades ago when CDs seemed so convenient and are just now pulling them out to appreciate all over again.

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Speaker SetupSpeaker Tech
Subwoofer Setup: How to Get Great Bass in 3 Steps
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 07, 2020  |  4 comments
Subwoofers are like the magic beans of audio, expanding a playback system's dynamic range in a way that dramatically enhances the listening experience. There's an attitude among some audiophiles that subwoofers represent, if not the spawn of the devil (there are numerous such spawns in audio lore), a bad compromise at minimum. But the truth is that adding a modest but well-designed subwoofer to speakers, even compact bookshelf models, can result in better performance than what you'd get from full-range towers that cost considerably more.
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A/V Veteran
Can Movie Theaters Survive the Shutdown?
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 07, 2020  |  3 comments
A month or so ago, my local AMC theater sent out a notice that they were only selling seats separated by a few feet to minimize close contact. A few days earlier I had gone to the Dolby Cinema screen in the same complex to see Onward, but it was a weekday afternoon and there were only about a half dozen of us spread out across the theater’s 250 seats. Today, thanks to the corona virus, that theater is closed for the duration. That’s true throughout the world...
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Audio Video News
HBO Offers Free Streaming of Select Shows
Al Griffin  |  Apr 06, 2020  |  1 comments
Good news for those of us in the U.S. on lockdown who have already blazed through all the good stuff on Netflix and are seeking something different: HBO is offering free streaming of select shows including The Sopranos, The Wire, and Six Feet Under through April 30 on its HBO NOW or HBO GO apps. So, if you happen to be one of the few who for some reason missed out on these early gems from the New Golden Age of Television, you’re now in luck.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
1917
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 03, 2020  |  0 comments
Picture
Sound
Extras
The date noted in 1917's title (April 6, to be precise) puts us well into World War I, when young Lance Corporal Blake along with his mate Schofield are dispatched from the Allied trenches with an urgent message. Some 1,600 soldiers, Blake's own brother among them, are heading into certain slaughter if new orders are not delivered to the commanding officer. And so, facing impossible odds, the brave duo embarks on a mission that could change the course of the conflict.
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Audio Video News
Live Streaming: Welcome to the New Normal in Concertgoing (for Now)
Bob Ankosko  |  Apr 02, 2020  |  0 comments
In case you haven’t noticed, live streaming has replaced concerts as the new normal and, though, it may not be ideal (what is these days?), it provides an intimate glimpse of artists performing at home without the grandeur of a live show with its pulsating lights and smoke machines.
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Stream On
6 Must-See Rockumentaries to Shelter in Place With
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 02, 2020  |  5 comments
The always-must-be-fed M.O. of today’s streaming services has produced a plethora of rock documentaries. Here are six you don’t want to miss.
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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
GoldenEar Technology BRX Bookshelf Speakers Review
Al Griffin  |  Apr 01, 2020  |  2 comments

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $1,599/pair

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Detailed, dynamic sound
Powerful bass for a bookshelf
Compact form factor
Minus
Requires careful setup and placement for best performance

THE VERDICT
GoldenEar Tech’s compact, passive BRX proves that the company known for powered towers can also make a better bookshelf speaker.

At some point when I reviewed GoldenEar Technology's Triton Reference tower in early 2017, it hit me that the company may have backed itself into a marketing corner with its new offering. After all, how do you push the performance envelope further after developing a "Reference" speaker? The company's agenda, as it turned out, was to scale its $8,500 flagship down in order to deliver variations on the Reference experience.

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Audio Video News
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Now on 4K Blu-ray
SV Staff  |  Mar 31, 2020  |  0 comments
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment of the nine-part Star Wars saga, is now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.
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