LATEST ADDITIONS

Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Adam Audio GTC77 Speaker System
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 27, 2011

Performance
Build Quality
Value
Price: $6,850 At A Glance: 0 for looks • 11 on a 10 scale for sound • Smooooth air motion transformer tweeter

Although Berlin, Germany–based Adam Audio is a recent player in the American A/V marketplace, the company has produced passive and powered loudspeakers for both pro and home use for 11 years. The acronym ADAM stands for Advance Dynamic Audio Monitors. ADAM Audio USA entered the pro market here in 2002 and only recently began building a home audio distribution and sales network.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Review: Emotiva X-Ref Speakers
Brent Butterworth  |  Dec 26, 2011

Emotiva made its name by offering high-end audio electronics that look like they cost thousands but actually cost hundreds. With the X-Ref line, it’s trying to do the same in speakers. The company has offered speakers in the past, but X-Ref is its first concerted effort to deliver a broad line of speakers at prices low enough to attract budget-minded-yet -serious home theater enthusiasts. The line includes two tower speakers, two LCR (left/center/right) speakers, two bookshelf speakers, one surround speaker, and two subwoofers.

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Vote
Do You Prefer Streaming or Downloading?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Dec 23, 2011
As consumers access more online content, they must contend with two very different distribution methods—streaming and downloading. With streaming from services such as Netflix and Hulu, you select what you want to watch or listen to, and the provider sends it over the Internet in real time. The content is not stored at your end, except perhaps for buffering a few minutes worth to guard against short interruptions. As a result, the receiving device can be simple and relatively inexpensive, but the quality depends greatly on the available bandwidth to the device.

By contrast, downloading from services such as iTunes pulls a copy of the content from the provider—not in real time, but at whatever speed your connection allows—and stores it on a hard disk or other high-capacity memory to play once the download is complete. In this case, quality is independent of your online bandwidth, since the download can take as long as it needs to. However, devices with lots of storage capacity are generally more expensive, and there are copy-protection issues to deal with.

Which type of distribution do you prefer, streaming or downloading? Or do you avoid online content altogether?

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

Do You Prefer Streaming or Downloading?
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
David Vaughn  |  Dec 23, 2011

WETA Digital, the effects house that gave us The Lord of the Rings, hits a homerun with its digital effects employed in this reboot of the popular 1960s franchise. Minute details in the chimp's faces look strikingly real and blow away the effects seen in any of the previous movies. They blend seamlessly into the live action shots and make you truly believe that the chimps are real creations and not CGI-based. Not to be overshadowed is the absolutely fantastic DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track that's extremely aggressive on the low end and offers an immersive and engaging surround mix. This is one of the must-see discs of 2011.
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Headphone Reviews
Review: Phiaton PS 20 BT Bluetooth In-Ear Headphones
Brent Butterworth  |  Dec 23, 2011

After trying several Bluetooth headphones, I’m surprised this category hasn’t taken off yet. With Bluetooth, you’re unencumbered by pesky cables. You can leave your cell phone in your pocket, on a table, etc., and control volume and track forward/reverse wherever you roam, as long as you don’t stray further than 30 feet. And unlike almost all mic-equipped headphones, Bluetooth headphones work as well with Androids as they do with iPhones.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Audio Lover’s Guide to “Super 8”
Anna Behlmer  |  Dec 23, 2011

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Review: PSB Speakers Imagine Mini Speaker System
Brent Butterworth  |  Dec 22, 2011

It’s been a dream of audio engineers and enthusiasts for decades: Create a compact speaker system that performs like a big one.

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New Products
From Zero to Guitar Hero
Michael Berk  |  Dec 22, 2011

Through with music games? Gone as far as you can with Guitar Hero? (There's always someone willing to go further - but that's not for you). Time to dust off that axe that's taking up space in the closet, plug it into your computer, and learn to play for real, once and for all.

Plug it into your computer? Yep, you heard me right.

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Signals
You Talkin’ To Me? Well I’m The Only One Here.
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 22, 2011

What is the Great American Pastime? Baseball? Football? Soccer? Actually, it’s none of those. Our great pastime is sitting passively and yelling as other people actively run around. And while shouting from the bleachers is fun, it’s even more fun to sit and shout at the TV.

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Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Mini Amp Review: Fiio E6, Fireye Mini, GoVibe Mini Box
Brent Butterworth  |  Dec 21, 2011

Most headphone amps aren’t made for the way we use headphones. Even many small models are too big to slip comfortably into a pocket. And most require power from an AC wall wart or a USB port. What use is that when you’re stuck in seat 34B of a Boeing 757, miles above Enid, Oklahoma, struggling to get better sound from your smartphone?

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