LATEST ADDITIONS

Projection Screen Reviews
Stewart Filmscreen Harmony G2 Acoustically Transparent Screen Review
Michael P. Hamilton  |  Aug 25, 2021

Performance
Setip
Value
PRICE $3,242 (as tested)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Superb uniformity and detail rendition
Precise color tracking and accurate saturation
Minimal reduction in audio fidelity
Minus
Woven design involves inherent light loss
Beer budgeteers may find it champagne-priced

THE VERDICT
Stewart's remarkable new Harmony G2 is a reference-level Acoustically Transparent offering for systems with speakers installed behind the screen.

A myriad of boulevards dissects a tract of former citrus groves, referred to long ago as Hollywoodland. Of these thoroughfares, singularly, there is Hollywood Boulevard, known the world over for a century of broken dreams. As lore recounts, and contemporary tales of woe reveal, there is little left to ponder beyond what should have been after most fame-bound aspirants leave.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Polk Refreshes 2 Home Theater Speaker Series
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 24, 2021
Looking ahead to the rapidly approaching 2021 holiday season, Polk Audio today introduced not one but two full-line home theater speaker series.
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The Connected Life
Two Decades With Kaleidescape
John Sciacca  |  Aug 24, 2021
The luxury video business is hard. Don’t believe me? Consider companies like Pioneer, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Runco, Escient, and ReQuest. And those are just a few brands that have either exited that market or no longer exist. One company that has consistently delivered the highest quality home theater experience since its inception 20 years ago is Kaleidescape.
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Signals
David Sonos v. Goliath Google
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Aug 23, 2021
Cognitive dissonance, that's what it is. When we are growing up, small and weak, we yearn to be big and strong. We naturally admire anything that dominates. And yet as adults most of us do not dominate. We must endure submission and we resent it. We root for the underdog. So, how do you feel about Sonos beating the tar out of Google?

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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Donnie Darko
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Aug 20, 2021
Picture
Sound
Extras
It's the end of the world and Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) doesn't feel fine. He's unhinged and uneasy. He's been sleep- walking, waking up in the middle of golf courses, and experiencing waking daydreams. A jet engine has fallen from the sky and crashed into his bedroom and a giant rabbit named Frank is telling him the world will end soon unless he stops it. But how?
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Vintage Gear
The Sansui 9090DB: A Receiver for the Ages
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 19, 2021
We go back to the Bicentennial year of 1976 to revisit a top receiver from a largely forgotten hi-fi brand.
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Home Movie Theaters
KEF Music Lounge Theater: A THX Certified Oasis
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 18, 2021
After almost a year-and-a-half in lockdown, I was honored to be the first member of the press to experience the KEF Music Lounge Theater. In late May, I visited the company's U.S. headquarters in Marlboro, NJ and received a warm—and long overdue—Jersey welcome from KEF VP David Kroll and marketing director Stephanie Scola.
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Ask S&V
Can I Use Dipole Speakers in a Dolby Atmos Setup?
Al Griffin  |  Aug 18, 2021
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Way back when surround sound at home was the new big thing, installing dipole surround speakers at either side of the main listening position was recommended. Are dipoles still the optimal surround speaker choice now that technology has transitioned to object-based audio formats like Dolby Atmos? —Steve Benoff, Beaumont, CA

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A/V Veteran
Big TV or Projector?
Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 17, 2021
In case you haven't noticed, big screen TVs are becoming almost affordable. And by big screen, I mean BIG, as in over 80-inches diagonal. I was browsing in Sam's Club the other day where rows of TVs in that size were on sale. If an 85-inch Vizio P-Series Quantum X at $2,900 isn't surprising enough, how about an 82-inch Samsung Crystal UHD 7-Series TU700D for $1,396?

Granted, both sets were 2020 models on closeout and not the latest 2021s. The Vizio was that company's best, or next to best, model for 2020, but the Samsung was in a 2020 budget range. But still, about $17 per diagonal inch for the Vizio and $34 per inch for the Samsung?

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Monitor Audio to Deliver Silver Series 7G this Fall
Bob Ankosko  |  Aug 16, 2021
Monitor Audio, the British company that has been building high-quality speakers for almost a half a century, is putting the final touches on the seventh generation of the Silver Series it introduced 22 years ago.
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