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In-Wall Speaker ReviewsOn-Wall Speaker Reviews
Artison Masterpiece LCR-DM On-Wall Speaker System
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Oct 28, 2011
Performance
Value
Build Quality
Price: $6,003 At A Glance: Discrete center-channel drivers built into main speakers • Grilles custom-sized to match flat panel • Can also be mounted on the wall

One of the more interesting things I overheard during this year’s CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis was an offhanded comment that “the sound quality of TVs today is worse than it was with TVs 20 years ago.” Think about that for a minute. A new, George Jetson–style, 50-inch flat-panel HDTV hanging on the wall makes one of those old, 50-inch, three-CRT, rear-projection (analog) TVs look like something even Fred Flintstone would pass on. But put those two sets side by side, close your eyes, and give a good, long listen to a movie, a football game, or even the nightly news running on each one of them. Despite the 20 years of technological “improvements” between them, my highly educated (I am a professional, after all) guess is that most people will pick that hulking behemoth 50-inch console rear-projection TV as the one they’d rather have if sound quality were the only concern.

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Ask S&V
Speaker Matching
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 28, 2011
I am in the process of upgrading my home theater. I just bought the Panasonic VT25 plasma TV and Marantz SR6006 A/V receiver, and I want to get the right speakers. I bought the B&W CM2 center channel, so my challenge is now the in-ceiling speakers. I am considering Martian Logan, B&W, and Current in-ceiling speakers. If I stay with the B&W center, should I go with B&W in-ceiling?

The Martin Logans cover more of the highs, while the B&Ws cover more of the midrange. With music, the B&Ws sound more realistic, but with movies, the Martin Logans sound better. I was told that matching manufacturers is key to maintain the same tonal character. If I don't, will there be an impact to movies and music? Any feedback on these speakers in general and/or matching manufactures would be very helpful. I am willing to go listen to other speakers that you suggest.

Mike Perrone

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Tech2
Pink is Not the New Black - Unless It Is
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Oct 27, 2011

I am not a woman. This may come as a shock, given my sleek and slickly stylish dome and ratty Scottish-highland-wannabe beard. 

However, I am lucky enough to know many intelligent and erudite people who happen to be women. 

My question to them, as folks of the female persuasion, was if the simplistic marketing tactic of "It's pink, women will buy it!" annoyed them as much as it annoyed me. 

Turns out it did, sort of.

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TV Reviews
Samsung PN59D8000 3D Plasma HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 27, 2011

2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $3,000 At A Glance: Accurate color, excellent resolution • Exceptional control features • Good but relatively dim 3D

We’ve said it before: Plasmas are the sand-in-the-face-at-the-beach, wallflower, last-kid-picked members of the flat-panel team. LCDs clearly dominate today’s HDTV market. But plasmas are also the Cinderella stepsister whose beauty becomes obvious when you really look for it. And at least three major manufacturers, including Samsung, think enough of plasma sets that they continue to make and promote them.

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Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Tangled Up in Bluetooth Page 5
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 27, 2011

The iPod just turned 10, and I sure feel sorry for my old standby. It's still working fine, but I know I'll never own another one. Since I got my Motorola Droid Pro smartphone, the iPod lives in a drawer.

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Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Tangled Up in Bluetooth Page 6
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 27, 2011

The iPod just turned 10, and I sure feel sorry for my old standby. It's still working fine, but I know I'll never own another one. Since I got my Motorola Droid Pro smartphone, the iPod lives in a drawer.

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Headphone Amp/DAC Reviews
Tangled Up in Bluetooth
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 27, 2011

The iPod just turned 10, and I sure feel sorry for my old standby. It’s still working fine, but I know I’ll never own another one. Since I got my Motorola Droid Pro smartphone, the iPod lives in a drawer.

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A/V Veteran
DIY To The Max
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 27, 2011
Would you suppose that the speaker shown in this photo is some new commercial speaker selling for six figures?
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Projector Reviews
Projector Roundup: Big Screens on a Small Budget
Kevin James  |  Oct 26, 2011

With prices falling faster than confidence in Greece's economy, is there a better big-screen deal these days than a front projector? Back in 2008 even bargain-basement-priced 1080p models cost about $3,000 - about half what they cost just a year earlier, but still a sizable chunk of change.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Jurassic Park Ultimate Trilogy
David Vaughn  |  Oct 26, 2011
On a remote tropical island, an amazing living theme park becomes a game of survival for humans foolhardy enough to set foot on it. Meticulously recreated dinosaurs spring to astonishing life as a multimillionaire (Richard Attenborough) bankrolls an effort to use advanced DNA technology to bring dinosaurs back to life. When an employee shuts down the security system for personal monetary gain all hell breaks loose when the dinosaurs escape forcing the visitors to play a game of cat and mouse with the deadly prehistoric creatures.

Throughout movie history there are certain films that change the way movies are made and Jurassic Park certainly qualifies due to its cutting-edge use of CGI effects. Even to this day, the dinosaurs depicted in the film look so lifelike it's kind of creepy. When it hit theaters in 1993, it blew audiences away and became an instant classic.

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