LATEST ADDITIONS

TV ReviewsOLED TV Reviews
LG 55EC9300 3D OLED HDTV
Thomas J. Norton  |  Nov 11, 2014

2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,800 (updated 2/2/16, price was $3,500 when reviewed)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Blacks, contrast, and shadow detail to die for
Lightweight
Minus
Not 4K
Cinema mode soft in default settings

THE VERDICT
This new LG is the OLED that videophiles have been waiting for, and an improvement over the 55EA9800 we reviewed last spring—with equal or better performance and, not least of all, a dramatically lower price.

Now that we’re about to turn the page into 2015, OLED HDTVs, so promising a year ago, appear to be at risk. The limited yield for OLED panels, resulting in a high retail cost, has driven most HDTV makers to the sidelines.

But not LG. They continue to vigorously support the technology. And with a current price of $3,500 for the new 55EC9300, they’re clearly tossing a Hail Mary into a market crowded with cookie-cutter LCD sets. At 55 inches (diagonal), this may be a relatively small set for the price, and it’s still just “Full HD” (the industry buzzphrase for 1080p sets). Whether LG scores a touchdown or gets intercepted remains to be seen, but there’s no doubt that buyers will be the winners.

Continue Reading »
Signals
Beware the Spinal Tap Syndrome
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 11, 2014
Spinal Tap band member Nigel Tufnel is showing his equipment to director Marty DiBergi and points out that the volume controls on his Marshall guitar amp go to 11. “It’s one louder,” he helpfully explains. DiBergi asks why not just make a “10” setting louder. A confused Tufnel replies, “These go to 11.”

The scene is renowned and has entered the popular culture as a way to point out needless excess, and particularly excess that demonstrates confusion, or otherwise serves no purpose. It’s my opinion that some audio technology now has knobs that go to 11.

Continue Reading »
Grace NotesAudio Video News
First Listen: Tidal Hi-Fi Music Streaming Service
Leslie Shapiro  |  Nov 10, 2014
A few months ago, we reported that Tidal High Fidelity music streaming was going to be launched in the US. It’s now up and running, and we had a chance to check it out. It’s the first full-resolution music streaming service available to US consumers. (Deezer is also full resolution, but only available for Sonos users.) Blah, blah, yet another music streaming service. Is it really that much better than Beats, Spotify, Slacker, or Pandora? Is it worth the $19.99 monthly fee? After some intensive listening, I say without hesitation, enthusiastically “YES” on all accounts.

Continue Reading »
New Products
November 2014 New Gear
Bob Ankosko  |  Nov 10, 2014
An ultra-quiet motorized projection screen, six-way Roku-ready HDMI switcher, audiophile CD player/music streamer, and more.
Continue Reading »
Surround Sound System ReviewsBookshelf Speaker Reviews
Silverline Audio Minuet Supreme Plus Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 08, 2014  |  First Published: Nov 07, 2014

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $1,748

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Versatile with movies and music
Superb build quality
Addictively listenable
Minus
Needs sub reinforcement

THE VERDICT
Like David in a world of Goliaths, Silverline Audio’s Minuet Supreme Plus is the kind of small speaker that makes listening to music an addictive pleasure.

Every January, I find myself walking down a hotel corridor lined with audio exhibitors. Sounds like the dream sequence from an audiophile movie, doesn’t it? I’m talking, of course, about the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Pretty much every year, I pay a visit to Silverline Audio, and pretty much every year, the reward is sweet, involving sound. This year, that sound was coming from Silverline’s Minuet Supreme Plus. Remarkably, it was powered by one of those tiny Class T amps you can buy on Amazon for $30. Having reviewed the original Minuet in 2008—and having loved it—I was eager to hear what its successor would sound like in my system with a better amp.

Continue Reading »
Tech2
Ultimate Ears: An Inside Look at the Making of In-Ear Monitors
Lauren Dragan  |  Nov 07, 2014
In-ear custom monitors are generally considered the gold standard for performers and audio professionals. And it makes sense; monitors are one of the only pieces of equipment that are made just for your anatomy and nobody else’s. The process of going from fitting to final product has remained largely unchanged for years: a painstaking, labor-intensive process.

Ultimate Ears is working on streamlining their workflow with the addition of 3D scanning, editing and printing. It’s working: what used to take three weeks, now can be done in one. But monitors at Ultimate Ears  still take a shocking amount of craftsmanship and skill to make, and I got to take a tour of their facility in southern California to see just how it’s all done. Wanna see? Check this out!
Continue Reading »
Ears On
Meet the New Dolby Surround
Mark Fleischmann  |  Nov 07, 2014
Dolby Atmos is hitting surround audiophiles like a succession of giant waves crashing on the beach. The first wave is Dolby Atmos in movie theaters. The second wave is Atmos in Atmos-enabled speakers and surround receivers. But what about that third wave, the one nobody's discussing? That's the quiet incorporation of another totally new technology into the Atmos technology bundle. I'm talking about Dolby Surround.

Continue Reading »
Headphone Reviews
V-Moda XS Headphone
Steve Guttenberg  |  Nov 06, 2014

Performance
Build Quality
Comfort
Value
PRICE $199

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Wowie-zowie style
Nearly indestructible
High-impact sound
Minus
Over-40 crowd might feel awkward wearing something as hip as the XS

THE VERDICT
With the XS, V-Moda somehow made a bassy headphone even an audiophile could love.

Val Kolton started V-Moda ten years ago, but I didn’t meet the man until 2011. I thought he was their sales guy; he definitely didn’t look like an owner of an audio company, at least not like any I’ve met before. He’s a young, skinny, rock-star type, decked out in black leather and long, jet-black hair. Get him started, and Kolton will talk a mile a minute about music and headphones, but then again, so do I.

Continue Reading »
SmartStream
First Look at CBS All Access and CBSN Live Streaming News Channel
Barb Gonzalez  |  Nov 06, 2014
CBS is offering a stand-alone streaming service for network TV programming and launching a 24/7 streaming live news service. Here are the details and a first look at how the streaming website and apps work.
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Elite Offers Two Versions of Motorized Screen
SV Staff  |  Nov 06, 2014
Elite Screens has announced that that its Saker motorized projection screen is now available in two versions: with side tension cords or with a fiberglass backing, both designed to provide a flat projection surface.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X