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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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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
African Cats
David Vaughn  |  Oct 14, 2011
Deep in the heart of the African savanna, a rivalry between two lion prides takes place while a cheetah family tries to stick together. Mara is an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother's strength, spirit, and wisdom, but an accident threatens to make her an orphan. Then there's Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five newborns who must try and keep her cubs alive until they can fend for themselves. Finally, there's Fang, the leader of the pride who must defend his family from a rival lion clan that is looking to take over his land.

This is the first Disneynature production I've had a chance to see, and while the narrative is geared toward younger audiences, I still enjoyed it. The young cheetah and lion cubs are adorable, and I kept wondering how the filmmakers were able to get such close-up images. The story can turn a tad dark at times, but Disney provides a great vehicle to introduce kids to the African savanna.

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Ask S&V
Soundbar in the Center
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 14, 2011
I have the opportunity to update my home theater audio system and have decided on the Marantz SR7005 AVR. My room is small, and when I remodeled 10 years ago, I installed four Paradigm in-wall speakers and a large center-channel speaker for my 5.1 system. It occurs to me that if I replace the center channel with a 3-channel soundbar, I could use my existing in-wall speakers for the surround and have a full 7.1 system.

What do you think of this approach? Paradigm makes a 3-channel soundbar, the Millenia 20 Trio (shown above). I like my Paradigm speakers, but I thought that looking at other brands might be a good thing to do.

Byron Servies

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Tech2
South — a 3D Sports Bar — Opens in L.A.
Brent Butterworth  |  Oct 14, 2011

Like every other Sound+Vision writer, I’ve seen a lot of 3D TV. But I never saw so much 3D TV as I did last night, when I walked into South, Los Angeles’ first 3D sports bar. Everywhere I looked, I could see a Vizio flat-panel TV showing 3D programming—sports mostly, of course, but also games and a couple of Blu-ray Discs.

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The Big Picture
BYO3DG—Bring Your Own 3D Glasses
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 13, 2011
When you go to your local cineplex to catch a 3D movie, you are provided with glasses that isolate the left and right images for the corresponding eyes. I always assumed that the theater bought these glasses, resulting in higher ticket prices and an admonition to toss them into a bin on the way out so they can be reused. But Sony Pictures' announcement two weeks ago that, in May 2012, it will stop providing theaters with RealD glasses—which are used in the majority of commercial 3D presentations—belied that assumption.
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New ProductsAudio Video NewsStreaming Device Reviews
Whole-Home Audio for the Rest of Us
Michael Berk  |  Oct 13, 2011

Legrand - a leader in residential wiring and custom install components - in something of a surprise move announced the airQast wireless music system at this year's CEDIA Expo.

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Projector Reviews
Digital Projection M-Vision Cine 230-HC DLP Projector
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 13, 2011

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $6,995 At A Glance: Satisfying brightness on a big screen • Excellent resolution and color • So-so black level and contrast

A few months back, we reviewed the Digital Projection HighLite Cine 260-HC (Home Theater, May 2011). But like most three-chip DLP designs, its $30,000 price could buy a nicely equipped new car. Some day, perhaps, the prices of such projectors may come down to earth, but until then, most of us are left to other options.

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Ask S&V
AVR and Two Subwoofers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 12, 2011
I want to hook up two Velodyne Impact 10 subwoofers to my Integra DTR-6.5 AVR. Do I need three signal splitters? Will I lose some signal using that many splitters? Should I use the Zone 2 sub output?

Mario B.

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