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AV Receiver Reviews
Pioneer VSX-1123 AV Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 15, 2013

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $600 At A Glance: MHL, HTC, iOS phone links • 4K scaling and passthrough • Solid performance for price

Despite some price overlap, Pioneer’s two receiver lines hew to different sets of values. Its Elite line offers more custom-install features, comes with a two-year warranty, and is sold through different distribution, primarily brick-and-mortar stores. The just-plain-Pioneer line, on the other hand, has more features per buck, offers a one-year warranty, and is sold both in stores and online. Scrutinize both lines closely, and you’ll find several cheap-and-cheerful-Pioneer models that are close equivalents of higher-priced Elite models. The just-call-me-Pioneer VSX-1123 ($600), reviewed here, has the same rated power and nearly all the same features as the Elite VSX-70 ($700)—including some brand-new features that will interest the smartphone-centric. If a price differential of more than a hundred bucks looks large in your household budget, read on.

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Headphone Reviews
Review: Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear Headphones
Leslie Shapiro  |  Aug 14, 2013

Sennheiser has long been a fixture in the professional audio and high-end audiophile market. I’ve used my Sennheiser HD 595 and HD 600 Open Dynamic headphones for many applications - in the studio for reference monitoring, for sound quality consulting, and for audio forensics. When Sennheiser announced the Momentum series, I was instantly curious about these affordable, fashionable, and (somewhat) portable headphones. Would they live up to the brand’s reputation?

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Grace Notes
Review: Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear Headphones
SV Staff  |  Aug 14, 2013
Can a high-end headphone manufacturer appeal to mainstream listeners? Oh yeah!
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Grace Notes
Review: Sennheiser Momentum Over-Ear Headphones Page 2
Leslie Shapiro  |  Aug 14, 2013

Sennheiser has long been a fixture in the professional audio and high-end audiophile market. I've used my Sennheiser HD 595 and HD 600 Open Dynamic headphones for many applications - in the studio for reference monitoring, for sound quality consulting, and for audio forensics. When Sennheiser announced the Momentum series, I was instantly curious about these affordable, fashionable, and (somewhat) portable headphones. Would they live up to the brand's reputation?

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Audio Video News
Wall Flower: REL Acoustics Habitat1 On-Wall Wireless Subwoofer
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 14, 2013
The Welsh company REL Acoustics has been specializing in subwoofers for more than two decades and likes to do things a bit differently. In particular, REL believes a subwoofer must be connected to the main amplifier’s high-level inputs to make sure it receives the same signal as the main speakers—the company even provides a special cable to make the high-level connection.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Cabaret
Chris Chiarella  |  Aug 14, 2013
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
Four of the 10 Best Picture winners of the ’60s were musicals, but as Hollywood transitioned to a post–Easy Rider era, they had to make even song-and-dance extravaganzas more relevant. And so in 1972, Cabaret redefined what a movie musical could be.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
This Is 40
HT Staff  |  Aug 14, 2013

Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
You know that old saying, “Life begins after 40”? Well, it’s true. That’s because it’s the exact moment when you become aware of your own mortality. In your twenties and thirties, you’re still technically invincible as far as you’re concerned and blissfully naive, but when 40 hits, it’s “Holy crap, I’m gonna die!” Suddenly you’re on numerous prescription medications and seeing far more of your doctor than you’d like; proctology exams, mammograms, prostate checks, pap smears, the works.
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This Week
This Week in Music, August 13, 2013: Pushing art-pop buttons with Sam Phillips
Ken Richardson  |  Aug 13, 2013

Sam Phillips: Push Any Button

New release (Littlebox)

You make modern accommodations from audience reaction
Stereo realist
Disconnected exposure meter

Start counting everybody
It's gonna blow
Pretty Time Bomb
You're a mirror of your times

Not the average opening lyrics of your average chanteuse. But then, Sam Phillips has never been anyone's average singer/songwriter, as she herself acknowledges: "I never could go with the crowd / Even though they seemed to know where they were going."

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This Week
This Week in Music, August 13, 2013: Pushing art-pop buttons with Sam Phillips
Ken Richardson  |  Aug 13, 2013
Also: Glen Campbell, Chastity Belt, Mickey Hart Band, Béla Fleck, Nirvana vinyl, and more.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
This Week in Movies & TV, August 13, 2013: Past Lives Lost
SV Staff  |  Aug 13, 2013
Shane, Olympus Has Fallen, The Company You Keep, Seconds, Emperor, The Damned.
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