LATEST ADDITIONS

Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Cat People
Josef Krebs  |  Apr 24, 2014
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
Slightly campy, with oodles of gratuitous nudity and violence, writer-director Paul Schrader’s remake of the 1942 Val Lawton classic tells of Irena (Nastassja Kinski), a beautiful young woman who goes to New Orleans to stay with her sinister minister brother Paul (Malcolm McDowell). Irena represses her sexuality, fearing that animal lust will loose the beast and transform her—into a panther. When she falls in love, though, her desire makes her gradually embrace her nature.
Continue Reading »
Gadget Gary
Should I Override My Audyssey Auto-setup?
Al Griffin  |  Apr 24, 2014
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I have an Integra DHC-80.3 preamp/processor with Audyssey MultEQ XT32. Reading the manual, I learned that I should set the speaker crossover to 80 Hz because “Audyssey recommends that speakers are ALWAYS set to Small when there is a subwoofer in the system.” This apparently allows for proper bass management and more headroom in the receiver or amplifier.  

So here are my questions. My speaker system is based around full-range B&W CM10 towers (powered by 250-watt mono amps) and includes a single subwoofer. Do I still need to choose an 80 Hz crossover point for my setup? Also, is there a point in upgrading to speakers with more powerful bass if I do cross them over at 80 Hz? —Bill Wong / via email

Continue Reading »
3D Projector ReviewsProjector Reviews
JVC DLA-X700R 3D D-ILA Projector
Kris Deering  |  Apr 23, 2014

2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $8,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Raises the bar for contrast
Excellent dynamic iris
performance
Minus
HDMI slow to lock on to signals

THE VERDICT
With the introduction of its first dynamic iris system, JVC has set a new standard for black level and contrast.

My dad worked on helicopters when I was growing up. In our garage was a picture of the latest Army Chinook, with the tag line “Only the Silhouette Remains the Same.” When I started my review of the DLA-X700R, JVC’s latest 3D LCOS projector, that phrase came back to mind. The projector looks exactly like my reference DLA-X75R—but on the inside, almost everything is new. After about a month of extensive use, I’ve discovered that JVC has achieved a massive step up in performance, making their new line of projectors the best they’ve delivered yet.

Continue Reading »
Music Reviews
Marillion: Sounds that Can’t Be Made — Special Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 23, 2014
Performance
Sound
Some bands sputter and wither after major personnel changes, and then there’s Marillion. The British neo-progressive collective’s first incarnation crested with 1985’s concept-driven Misplaced Childhood, which featured original mercurial lead singer Fish and the hit guitar-driven lament, “Kayleigh.” Act II commenced with 1989’s transitional Seasons End, featuring new vocalist Steve Hogarth (a.k.a. “h”), who has since helped fuel the band to greater compositional heights over the last two decades.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Butler
David Vaughn  |  Apr 23, 2014
Picture
Sound
Extras
White House butler Cecil Gaines has a front-row seat to the inner workings of the people’s house as the Civil Rights era begins. Raised in Georgia as the son of a sharecropper, he’s turned into a house servant when his father is murdered and ventures out on his own into the cruel world as a teenager. Though he makes several stops along the way, he eventually ends up in the White House serving a string of presidents starting with Eisenhower and ending with Reagan.
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Zeroing In on Cord Cutters
SV Staff  |  Apr 22, 2014
A recent survey by Morgan Stanley found that one in 10 pay-TV subscribers have definite plans to “cut the cord” sometime in 2014 year, reinforcing something most of us already know: Americans are getting fed up with the ever-escalating cost of cable and satellite TV subscription packages and seeking alternate ways to watch their favorite shows.

Winegard, which has been making TV antennas for 60 years, examines the cord cutting phenomenon in an infographic...

Continue Reading »
A/V Veteran
Prime Meridian
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 22, 2014
Last week Meridian Audio held a reception in Los Angeles, one of many across the country for the U.S. launch of its new special edition, digital loudspeakers, the DSP 5200SE, DSP7200SE, and DSP8000SE (For others yet to be held, go to meridian.com.)

This year is the 25th anniversary of Meridian’s first digital loudspeaker, so it’s no surprise that all three of these designs are powered by their own internal amplifiers and accept only digital inputs. In most installations such inputs will come from Meridian’s own electronics, but other digital sources, such as a music server, may also be used to feed the speakers’ inputs.

Continue Reading »
Signals
Reporter’s Notebook: Reflecting on 2014 CES
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 22, 2014
Editor’s Note: The following article appears in the May 2014 print edition of Sound & Vision.

How Was Your Day?

Friday afternoon, McCarran Airport. The International CES ends today. Some bitter-enders are still at the convention center, but for me, the show is over. With a mixture of relief and regret, I toss my press pass into a recycling bin. As I wait for my boarding call, I pull out some notes, trying to make sense of what just happened.

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Poll Results: Sonos Preferred for Wireless Music
SV Staff  |  Apr 20, 2014
The results of last week’s survey are in. We asked if you have a wireless music system at home and a full one third of the respondents reported having—and loving— a Sonos system, followed by one quarter who have yet to venture into wireless audio. Apple AirPlay was the second most favored wireless setup, followed by Bluetooth, which came in a distant third. The complete breakdown is as follows…
Continue Reading »
Tech2
Game Review: The Last Federation
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Apr 19, 2014
I had expected a fairly simple top-down space shooter, something like Space Pirates and Zombies.

While there was certainly action, The Last Federation has an impressive amount of depth. It’s a turn-based shooter, sure, but it’s also a world-building and political strategy game as well, but done in a way I haven’t seen before.

And it’s wonderfully addictive.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X