LATEST ADDITIONS

Grace Notes
Beats Buys MOG: Next Stop, World Domination?
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jul 09, 2012

Although the rumors have been flying for months, it's now official: last week Beats bought the music streaming service MOG, paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million.

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Track One
Roger Waters Tears Down The Wall
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 09, 2012

With speakers strategically positioned all the way around The House That Ruth Built — a.k.a. Yankee Stadium — and buttressed by a multimedia visual presentation second to none, Roger Waters and his ace band tore through Pink Floyd’s seminal 1979 masterpiece The Wall in full on July 7 in the Bronx.

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Bluetooth Speaker Reviews
Review: Jawbone Big Jambox
Brent Butterworth  |  Jul 09, 2012

The original Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker has won raves from us and seemingly everyone else who reviews portable audio gear. That’s partly because of the Jambox’s great sound, partly because of its cool industrial design, and partly because of its flashy programmable features. But even the most shameless marketing guy wouldn’t say the Jambox’s 1.25-inch drivers rock.

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Vote
How Many Separate Subs in Your System?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 06, 2012
Most home-theater sound systems include one or more subwoofers that are separate from the main speakers. In fact, I generally recommend using separate subs at least for movie soundtracks, which often include lots of low frequencies, because the best placement for bass drivers in a room is often not the same as the best placement for the drivers that reproduce the rest of the audio range. And the judicious placement of more than one sub can significantly smooth out the bass response of most rooms so that everyone can enjoy the same great bass no matter where they sit. On the other hand, many audiophiles prefer to have full-range main speakers, claiming that the sound is more integrated than it can be with separate subs.

How many separate subs do you have in your system? Or do you use full-range main speakers without a sub? What led you to your decision in this regard?

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

How Many Separate Subs in Your System?
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Audio Separates Buying TipsAV Receiver Setup
How To Set Up a Power Amp
Kim Wilson,  |  Jul 06, 2012
So you've taken the leap and opted for separates, and now you're wondering how to set up the power amp properly with you're A/V preamp/processor. Relax, it's not difficult at all.
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Tech2
A Plea FOR a Connected Life
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jul 06, 2012

It seems a growing number of people - or at least a growing number of op-ed contributors - have latched onto the idea that technology is bad, scary, and limiting our lives to ones and zeros. "The Flight From Conversation" and "The 'Busy' Trap" being two notable examples. It's something that Nathan Jurgenson calls "The IRL Fetish" (thanks Brian Lam of The Wirecutter for the link).

Jurgenson breaks down the idea better than I can. What I want to do is present the other side. I want to voice my strong and eternal support for the wonder that is the modern connected life.

Because, dammit, it's awesome.

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A/V Veteran
Audio in Technicolor
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jul 05, 2012
It may surprise you to learn that Technicolor is now a French-owned company, with its main offices outside of Paris. It may also be new to you that, to a significant degree, the company is now involved in audio post-production work, rather than the film processes for which it is best known.
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Accessory Reviews
Air Def TV
David Vaughn  |  Jul 05, 2012
Do wireless HDMI kits really work? We test three to find out.

In late 2003, HDMI-equipped consumer-electronic devices started to appear on the market. Unfortunately, the transition to digital has been anything but smooth. Although HDMI was a vast improvement over DVI (Digital Visual Interface) in its ability to carry both audio and video in one cable, it came with its own set of issues.

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TV ReviewsLCD TV Reviews
SunBriteTV Model 4660HD Outdoor LCD HDTV
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 05, 2012

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $2,795 At A Glance: Built-in multifan airflow cooling system • Discrete IR input • Watertight cable entry compartment cover

A number of years ago, I wrote an article about putting together a backyard home theater using an inflatable front-projection screen from Sima. It was a blast—and more than just a blast of air from the pump that inflated the Michelin-Man-dream-date, 72-inch-screen-covered blimp in less than 6 minutes. I took the setup to a friend’s house one Saturday during my “research” where we had a three-family movie night on the patio in his backyard. Sodas and margaritas flowed freely that evening. Much popcorn was popped. I don’t think any of us remember the actual movie, but to this day none of us has forgotten how much fun we had—more fun, as a matter of fact, than we’d ever had watching a movie the proper way inside the house.

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Headphone Reviews
Review: Tivoli Audio Radio Silenz Noise Canceling Headphones
Michael Berk  |  Jul 05, 2012

Tivoli's staked out a secure place for itself on the bedside tables and desks of stylish folks worldwide, and now they've decided to bring their tasteful finishes and wooden accents to the category everybody's getting into these days - headphones.

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