LATEST ADDITIONS

New Products
New Gear
SV Staff  |  Mar 19, 2014
The latest crop of new gear includes a hi-rez music player and two speakers: one a kick-ass Bluetooth portable, the other a super-thin model that literally disappears.
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Vote
How Do You Get Rid of Your Old AV Gear?
SV Staff  |  Mar 19, 2014
If there’s one truth in living the home entertainment dream, apart from the sheer enjoyment we get from having movies and music come to life in our homes, it’s that we tend to accumulate gear—sometimes lots of gear. John Sciacca offered a number of suggestions for what to do with old equipment in his recent Old Electronics Get New Life column, which left us wondering how Sound & Vision readers get rid of AV treasures that are past their prime. Take a moment to make a choice below and then leave a comment to share your thoughts on the subject.
How Do You Get Rid of Your Old AV Gear?
Move it to the curb with garbage
3% (10 votes)
Bring it to the local recycling center
14% (49 votes)
Donate it to a charity like Good Will or Salvation Army
11% (38 votes)
Give it to a friend or relative
20% (72 votes)
Move it to another room in the house for secondary use
21% (73 votes)
Move it to a basement or attic storage area
12% (42 votes)
Sell it at a garage sale or online through a site like eBay
19% (68 votes)
Total votes: 352
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Audio Video News
Elite Screen Announces Affordable Ambient Light Rejecting Screen
SV Staff  |  Mar 19, 2014
Elite Screens has announced that its CineGrey 5D Ambient Light Rejecting projection screen is now available to the consumer market. The screen, which is compatible with active 3D and 4K projectors, is said to counter the wash-out effect from ambient light while enhancing contrast and color balance.
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The Connected Life
Back to the Future
John Sciacca  |  Mar 18, 2014
Once Cutting-Edge Systems Are Starting to Look like Dinosuars

Having been a custom installer since 1998, I’ve installed more than my share of housewide audio systems. And, as you can imagine, these systems have changed and evolved quite a bit over the years.

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Signals
Pono: It’s Baaaack!
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Mar 18, 2014
It’s been awhile since I’ve heard anything from new from Pono. When it was first unveiled, at least in concept, two years ago, Pono was a bit of a head-scratcher. Brainchild of rocker Neil Young, Pono was his response to the scourge of lo-fi music. Pono was a new music player and/or file format and/or music delivery system that would resurrect recorded music. Stay tuned. So, it was interesting to see Pono surface again at SXSW last week.

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Ask S&V
How Can I Avoid Turning Up the Volume to Hear Movie Dialogue?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 17, 2014
The effects of dynamic volume control are illustrated in this diagram from Audyssey.

Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q When watching a movie, I often have to turn the volume up to hear the dialogue but then find that the action scenes are too loud and have to turn it down again. My speakers are all from the same product line, so I know they are meant to play well together. I also use the automatic room correction on my Pioneer VSX-914-K AV receiver to adjust levels and distances for the speakers. Is the volume issue due to the way movies are mixed these days? —Ricky Meadows / via e-mail Ricky Meadows / via e-mail

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Headphone ReviewsTech2
JBL Syncros S400BT: Close to Syncros-nicity
Lauren Dragan  |  Mar 13, 2014
Ah, Bluetooth. The desire to cut the cord has led to a market flooded with a dozen new wireless headphone options in the last few months. The latest to enter the fray is JBL, with their Synchros S400BT: a touch sensor controlling, LED glowing, aptX encoding, Bluetooth 3.0 stereo over-ear headphone. With all those bells and whistles, I just had to give them a try. How would they measure up?
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Surround Processor Reviews
Krell Foundation Surround Processor
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 13, 2014

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $6,500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Superb sonics High build quality No widgets, gimmicks, or extraneous features
Minus
No widgets, gimmicks, or extraneous features Klunky OS, incomplete instructions, non-backlit remote

THE VERDICT
Krell’s aptly named, sonically sophisticated Foundation counters a foolish industry trend toward sacrificing sound quality for useless and/or redundant features.

We live in a bizarre world where automobile commercials tout peripheral accessories while omitting mention of engines, transmissions, and brakes. What’s more important: Stopping distance or voice-activated Bluetooth?

So it’s not surprising that in much of today’s home theater electronics, sound quality takes a backseat to features and widgets. Backseat? In some, sound quality doesn’t even go along for the ride.

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Headphone Reviews
AKG K712 Pro Headphone
Steve Guttenberg  |  Mar 13, 2014

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $699

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Hand-crafted in Austria
Ear coddling comfort
User-replaceable cable
Minus
Expensive
Lacks mike or inline remote

THE VERDICT
The AKG K712 Pro’s winning combination of comfort, build quality, and superlative sound puts it in the top tier of headphones in its price class.

Headphone shoppers should never forget that sound quality should always be balanced with comfort. Sure, sound is the thing, but you’d be unwise to assume all headphones are equally comfy. I wish. The majority of full-size headphones on the market—including a lot of very expensive ones—can be a chore to wear for more than an hour or so. AKGs have no such problem; the company nailed big headphone comfort with their K701 that debuted in the U.S. in 2006, and this new model, the K712 Pro, looks and feels much the same (the less expensive K701 remains in the line). Both models feature similar drivers, but the K712 Pro’s two-layer Varimotion driver has been redesigned to increase bass output.

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New Products
Woojer Wearable Woofer
Bob Ankosko  |  Mar 13, 2014
They call Woojer the “first ever matchbox sized augmented reality haptic audio device,” but it’s really just a wearable woofer. Plug your phone/music player/game system and headphones into the tiny transducer, clip it to your shirt or belt, and literally “feel the sound.” Best part, Woojer transforms any audio signal into a silent tactile sensation felt throughout your body, confirming for family and friends that you have, indeed, lost your mind as you move and groove in your invisible disco.
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