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Reference TracksThe S&V Interview
The Waterboys’ Mike Scott Pours a New Sound Palette for ‘Out of All This Blue’
Mike Mettler  |  Dec 20, 2017
Career songwriters often find themselves on a perpetual quest to add new tools to their creative toolboxes in order to keep things fresh. Such has been the case for Mike Scott, chief architect of British alt-rock stalwarts The Waterboys, who turned to GarageBand and some interesting plug-in choices to fuel the almost two-dozen songs that comprise his band’s expansive new double-disc effort, Out of All This Blue (BMG).
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Surround Sound System ReviewsBookshelf Speaker ReviewsHome Theater Systems ReviewsPower Amplifier ReviewsSurround Processor Reviews
Emotiva BasX System Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Dec 19, 2017
PRICE $2,143 as reviewed

THE VERDICT
Emotiva’s BasX surround processor, five-channel amp, and speakers offer an affordable and high-performing starter system that puts you into audio separates without breaking the bank.

Surround separates are generally regarded as a step up from receivers. If you want the biggest and best, and have to ask their prices, you probably can’t afford them. But ask me the prices of Emotiva’s new BasX surround preamp/processor and multichannel amplifier, along with a set of compact speakers from the same series. The answers are $599, $499, and $1,045, totaling $2,143 for a 5.1-channel system of electronics and speakers. That would buy a midpriced receiver and a decent (but probably smaller) satellite/subwoofer set.

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A/V Veteran
TVs, TVs Everywhere
Thomas J. Norton  |  Dec 19, 2017
My first color TV, a Zenith (remember them?) was a 19-inch CRT that cost me somewhere around $350 and weighed a ton (or seemed to). Today, the only display devices you’ll find at that size are computer monitors; they’ll cost you considerably less and can be carried around under one arm.

I was reminded of that as I recently visited the TV department in my local Best Buy. Even with Black Friday firmly in the rear-view mirror, there were, quite literally, stacks of boxed TVs filling the aisles. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many crowded into one space, perhaps not even at CES. And in an area with a population of roughly 100,000, that’s a lot of TVs to sell. Most of them, even the larger models, were well under $1000, reflecting the modest incomes of a primarily middle-class region.

But new TVs are always a hot item, and this is a prime time of year for TV sales...

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Signals
Why Millennials Will Trigger a Boom in Home Theater Sales
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 19, 2017
Work with me here. I'll try my best to explain. The gist of it is this: Millennials are going to move out of cities and start buying home theaters. Lots of home theaters.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Sony to Roll Out Dolby Vision TV Update in January
SV Staff  |  Dec 19, 2017
Sony has announced that the firmware update that activates Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) processing in its high-end TV models will be available in mid to late January.
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Audio Video News
Suit from 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Auctioned for Charity
SV Staff  |  Dec 19, 2017
An official Spider-Man suit worn by Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming was auctioned off yesterday to raise money for the Toys for Tots charity run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.
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Audio Video News
LG Partners with Meridian to Up its Audio Game
SV Staff  |  Dec 19, 2017
LG and Meridian Audio yesterday announced a global partnership to collaborate on the technical design of soundbars, wireless speakers, and other LG audio products.
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Audio Video News
BioInteractive to Unveil Gesture Wristband at CES
SV Staff  |  Dec 19, 2017
Vancouver-based startup BioInteractive Technologies plans to unveil a gesture wristband for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications at CES 2018, which kicks off in Las Vegas on January 9.
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Home Movie Theaters
California Dreamin’
SV Staff  |  Dec 18, 2017
Photos and system overview courtesy of Custom LA.

When homeowners in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, hired Custom LA to replace the existing home theater in their 6,500-square-foot home, they wanted an advanced system capable of delivering jaw-dropping audio and video performance but it had to be dead simple to operate and capable of controlling AV systems in two other areas of the sprawling home.

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Remotely Possible
Gifts for Yule and Yours
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Dec 18, 2017
If you’re still shopping for a Christmas or other holiday gift, you know time is of the essence right now.
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