Audio Video News

The end of summer beckons and so do the 10 products we singled out for Top Pick status in August. From an unexpected speaker from Quad and a soundbar-based 5.1 system from Atlantic Technology to SVS’s crazy cheap subwoofer isolation system and Sony’s killer HDR-ready 4K TV, the mix is eclectic as usual but with an emphasis on speakers this time around. Appropriate, we think, considering speakers define the sonic character of any system. Let us know if you plan to make (or have already made) room for any of these gems in your home entertainment space.  

Quad Z1 Loudspeaker: $1,999/pair

The Z1 is most definitely not your father’s Quad. Not even close. For one, it’s a fraction of the size of the iconic ESL full-range electrostatic speaker, standing only 15 inches tall. For another, the company that was founded in Great Britain 80 years ago is now owned by Taiwan’s International Audio Group. What it does have in common is an exquisite finish (check out the cherry) and excellent sound, thanks to a beautifully voiced ribbon tweeter whose depth, breadth, and detail will surprise you. “When you spend $1,000 per speaker, you expect something better than the norm,” wrote reviewer Mark Fleischmann. “The Quad Z1 delivers with its carefully tweaked ribbon tweeter, gracefully sculpted cabinet, and musical adeptness.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Ribbon tweeter for wide horizontal dispersion
Kevlar cone woofer with dual-chambered loading
Multi-layered, curved cabinet
Minus
Limited bass, typical of compact monitors

Full Review Here

 

Sony XBR-65X930D LCD Ultra HDTV: $3,000

Drawing on its storied history in television technology (who can forget Trinitron) Sony has put its best foot forward in the X930D. One step down from the flagship X940D, this magnificent 65-incher is loaded with the latest picture enhancing technology with one exception: Instead of full-array local dimming—the gold standard for LCD Ultra HDTVs—Sony has upped the ante on edge-lit local dimming and produced the best edge-lit picture we’ve ever seen, not to mention the brightest HDR set we’ve tested to date. As veteran TV reviewer Tom Norton put it, “The Sony proved to be a worthy competitor to the best full-array local dimming set I’ve tested…something I once assumed to be impossible.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Impressive edge-lit local dimming
Respectable off-axis viewing
Bright, punchy HD
Minus
Often redundant menus
Tight remote control layout

Full Review Here

 

Grado RS1e Headphone: $695

We know what you’re thinking: Grado? Didn’t they make phono cartridges once upon a time? Yes, they did and still do but the family-owned-and-operated company also makes outstanding headphones and has been doing so for years. An update of the RS1, the classy RS1e rests comfortably on your ears while delivering a huge soundstage with clear, detailed sound that can’t be beat in this price class. Headphone guru Steve Guttenberg wrote: “Noah Wall’s Down Home Blues (192-kHz/ 24-bit) brought out the best in the RS1e: A spacious soundstage, freewheeling dynamics, and vivid clarity down to the quietest details of the recording were more effortlessly revealed than what I heard from my 10-year-old Grado RS1.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Hand-crafted in Brooklyn!
Lightweight design
Incredibly open soundstage
Minus
Cable isn’t user-replaceable

Full Review Here