LATEST ADDITIONS

A/V Veteran
Black Friday Cometh
Thomas J. Norton  |  Nov 20, 2018
I have little experience with Black Friday mania, having studiously avoided any contact with Best Buy, Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, or Targea on that frenzied day. Black Friday doesn’t mean a day of mourning, but is rather named for the day of the year when retailers anticipate their annual sales will finally go positive—out of the red and into the black.

And there’s no denying it to be an important day to people with plastic and a yearning for good stuff at fire-sale prices. For them it’s a Holy Day of Obligation. They line up outside at closing time on Thanksgiving (the day before the main event) to spend a cold night bundled up outside hoping to score that new flat screen TV (though Black Friday Vigil sales late on Turkey Day are now a thing)...

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Helm Audio Launches $350 Planar Headphones in U.S.
SV Staff  |  Nov 20, 2018
Hong Kong-based Helm Audio is making its debut in North America with three products, including “audiophile-grade” over-ear planar-magnetic headphones that sell for $350.
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Audio Video News
Black Friday 2018: The Sale Is Already Underway
SV Staff  |  Nov 19, 2018
SVS, Klipsch, LG, and others get the BF party started.

LG got Black Friday sales rolling a week ago when it announced its “Best Prices” of 2018 sale, and momentum continues to build this week as companies decide to get the Black Friday party started now rather than wait until after Thanksgiving.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
LG Unveils its ‘Most Powerful Gaming Display Yet’
SV Staff  |  Nov 19, 2018
LG unveiled its “most powerful gaming display yet” at a competition it co-hosted over the weekend with the popular esports team FaZe Clan at DreamHack Atlanta 2018.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
MQA Adapter Now Available for Essential Smartphone
SV Staff  |  Nov 16, 2018
Palo Alto, CA-based startup Essential Products has announced that the digital-to-analog (DAC)/adapter that enables its Essential Phone to stream Master Quality Authenticated (MQA)-encoded music via Tidal is now available in the U.S. and Canada.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
American Psycho 4K
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Nov 16, 2018
Picture
Sound
Extras
The controversial 2000 film American Psycho from co-screenwriter/director Mary Harron (Alias Grace) was based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis. Set in the fast-paced 1980s, it follows the privileged, handsome, and narcissistic Wall Street executive Patrick Bateman (Oscar winner Christian Bale) who is all about greed and self-aggrandizement. By day he builds on the fortune and material things he has already accumulated, but at night the eviler demons inside him slip out to experiment with a dizzying array of sex and violence.
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Editor's Eye
Let’s Get Physical
Al Griffin  |  Nov 16, 2018
Even though streaming long ago supplanted playing discs as my go-to method for listening to music, physical media is still relevant.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Dolby Targets Binge Watchers with its First Product
SV Staff  |  Nov 16, 2018
You know Dolby Labs as a long-time provider (licensor) of technologies that enhance home audio and home theater experiences, including most recently Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) and Dolby Atmos surround sound. In the ‘60s and ‘70s it was Dolby noise reduction and, of course, Dolby technology extends to movie theaters and pro audio. But did you know Dolby also makes home entertainment products?
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Riva’s Alexa-Enabled Smart Speaker Hits Amazon Today
SV Staff  |  Nov 15, 2018
Riva Audio today announced that its new Alexa voice-enabled Riva Concert Smart Speaker is now available on amazon.com for $199.
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Anthem STR Integrated Amplifier Review
Al Griffin  |  Nov 15, 2018

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $4,499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Effective, easily configured room correction
Flexible bass-management
Powerful stereo amplifier
Extensive phono input settings
Minus
No built-in network streaming capability

THE VERDICT
ARC room correction on Anthem’s STR integrated amp makes it a must-audition option for anyone putting together a high-performance stereo system.

Anthem AVM series preamplifier/processors have been part of my home theater toolkit going back as long as I can remember. Though they perform A/V switching, audio processing, and video upscaling as well as anything else on the market, the main feature I’ve come to depend on is the company’s proprietary ARC (Anthem Room Correction), a Windows and iOS/Android app that lets you measure the effect of your listening environment on your speakers using either a calibrated microphone or the one built into your phone or tablet.

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