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Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Report, Part 2: Speakers, Amps, and More
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 18, 2011

The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest is growing up. A few years ago, it was known as a gathering of small (sometimes one-man) companies demonstrating exotic (sometimes downright wacky) audio products. Some of those guys are still there, but so now are most of the better-known high-end audio companies.

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Music ReviewsBlu-ray Movie Reviews
This Week in Music and Blu-rays: October 18, 2011
Brett Milano  |  Oct 18, 2011

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 83: Philip Clements
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 18, 2011
Philip Clements, inventor of the H-PAS (Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System) speaker-loading technology used in his own speakers as well as models from Atlantic Technology, explains how H-PAS combines bass-reflex, acoustic-suspension, and transmission-line techniques to offer many advantages, including extended bass response, lower distortion, and greater dynamic range.

Run Time: 56:20

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Tech2
Vudu and Dolby Launch 7.1 Streaming
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 18, 2011

While the image quality of video streaming services has been improving, audio has lagged behind. But it looks like it’s catching up.

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Grace Notes
DirecTV's Nomad: Where Will You Wander?
Leslie Shapiro  |  Oct 17, 2011

Streaming from a DVR is a great way to watch whatever you want, wherever you want. Some even say that streaming might be the future of video.

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3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Green Lantern 3D
David Vaughn  |  Oct 17, 2011
In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, an elite force called the Green Lantern Corps has existed for centuries to protect peace and justice. Each warrior wears a ring that grants him the ability to create anything his mind can imagine, but when an enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, all hopes rest in the hands of their newest recruit and the first human ever selected—Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds).

I've never been a connoisseur of comic books and my exposure to them has come from feature films. My expectations for Green Lantern were quite low given its poor reviews during its theatrical run so it was a big surprise that I actually liked it. Granted, it's no Iron Man or The Dark Knight, although I enjoyed it as much as Thor. Reynolds does a decent job playing the cocky hero, but its biggest shortcoming is the lackluster screenplay that adds too many subplots and drags throughout the second act.

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Ask S&V
GoldenEar vs. Morel
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 17, 2011
The reviews of the GoldenEar SuperCinema 3 (seen in the lower portion of the image above) and Morel SoundSpot Music Theatre 2 Ultra speaker systems came out at roughly the same time. The Morels appear to have better performance and build quality according to their ratings, and yet they are not considered as good a value despite being in essentially the same price category. Do the Morels really sound better, or is their sound measured against how tiny they are?

Stephen Trask

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Tech2
Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Report, Part 1: CanJam
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 17, 2011

Visitors to the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest that ended yesterday got to see two shows in one.

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Bookshelf Speaker ReviewsSubwoofer Reviews
Test Report: Sonus Faber Liuto Speakers and REL R-528 Subwoofer
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 16, 2011

Romantics see Italy as a place of rich history and sophisticated culture. Not me. As a non-romantic, I can think of Italy only as the birthplace of the Fiat 128 that often left me walking instead of driving, and the location of a honeymoon in which I fought frenzied traffic and struggled to find a decent meal.

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Vote
Can Ultra-Premium Flat Panels Succeed?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 14, 2011
Yesterday, I helped Tom Norton unpack and set up a 60-inch Sharp Elite PRO-60X5FD LED-backlit LCD TV (shown on the right above) that he will review over the next couple of weeks. (Interestingly, the name Sharp appeared nowhere on the box, only Elite.) Even before setting the basic picture controls—but after selecting the Elite Pure picture mode and Low color temperature—the image looked remarkable, with deep blacks, bright whites, and rich colors. Also, the Sharp is sitting next to Tom's 60-inch Pioneer Elite PRO-141FD plasma (on the left above), so he will be able to do direct side-by-side comparisons to see if Sharp has managed to wrest the flat-panel crown from the Kuro.

In addition to exceptional picture quality, both TVs have something else in common—a very hefty price tag. The PRO-60X5FD lists for $6000, while the 70-inch version is a whopping $8500. (The 60-inch PRO-141FD was $7000 in 2009.) In my opinion, such high prices lead to the demise of the Kuro, because a best-possible-performance, cost-no-object flat panel is unsustainable in today's—or even yesteryear's—economic climate. So I'm concerned that the new Sharp Elite TVs will suffer the same fate as the Kuro.

Do you think ultra-performance, ultra-expensive flat panels can succeed in today's marketplace? Or are they simply too expensive to manufacture and sell in quantities large enough to make business sense?

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

Can Ultra-Premium Flat Panels Succeed?
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