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Audio Video News
MQA Audio Tech Marches Onward and Upward
SV Staff  |  Jan 16, 2017
Master Quality Authenticated, or MQA, the end-to-end audio encoding technology invented by digital-audio pioneer Bob Stuart of Meridian fame, continues to gain momentum with several announcements made at CES 2017.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Klipsch Gets Nostalgic with New Speakers
SV Staff  |  Jan 16, 2017
As we progress into 2017, Klipsch continues its 70th anniversary celebration with two new Heritage Series speakers that recall the grandeur of its earliest designs.
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Tech2
Just Cause 3: Kinda a Review, Kinda a Question
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jan 13, 2017
The core Just Cause 3 game came out at the tail end of December… 2015. Throughout 2016 several DLCs came out. Clearly, I missed all of them. What’s the point in talking about this game now? Well, it is fun so if you missed it, here's why you should check it out.

What’s interesting to me, however, is how the game is fun. You see, there’s absolutely no challenge to it. Your character is essentially invincible and immortal. There’s no death penalty, you have essentially unlimited ammo and explosives, and despite sort of taking place in the real world, your character can basically fly.

And yet… it still manages to be fun. Why?

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Nice Guys
Corey Gunnestad  |  Jan 13, 2017
Picture
Sound
Extras
The year is 1977 in Los Angeles, California. Disco reigns supreme, the porn industry is flourishing, killer bees are emigrating from South America, and smog has reached epidemic levels. Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is a hard-hitting thug for hire, taking work wherever he can find it. Most times, it involves beating the crap out of some guy who’s bothering a young lady and breaking numerous bones in the process. Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is a burnt-out ex-cop now private detective who’s not above deceiving a client to maintain a steady paycheck. And these are the Nice Guys.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
David Vaughn  |  Jan 13, 2017
Picture
Sound
Extras
Charlize Theron is back as the evil Queen Ravenna, who betrays her sister Freya (Emily Blunt) with an unthinkable act of cruelty leading to her path down the dark side of magic; like Elsa from Frozen, she possesses an icy power. She heads north to train an army in order to conquer the realm, with one caveat: They are forbidden to fall in love, which is exactly what happens to Eric and Sara, leading to Freya going postal on her most treasured Huntsmen.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Onkyo Previews Super Smart Speaker
SV Staff  |  Jan 13, 2017
Onkyo previewed an Alexa voice-enabled wireless smart speaker at CES last week, marking its foray into the super-hot product category Amazon created with its line of Echo smart speakers.
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Audio Video News
Who Needs Hi-Res Audio When You Have...Cassettes
SV Staff  |  Jan 13, 2017
Are you a hipster? Did you recently buy a turntable from Urban Outfitters—or a cassette deck? (Yes, they sell those.)
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Throwback Thursday
CES Rewind: The First 25 Years in Pictures
SV Staff  |  Jan 12, 2017
CES, the mother of all consumer technology shows, ended on Sunday, marking its 50th anniversary with a record breaking turnout of 3,800 exhibitors, spanning 2.6 million square feet of space, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 175,000 attendees. By comparison, the first show, held in New York in 1967, had 200 exhibitors and attracted around 17,000 attendees.
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CES 2017
Streaming Gets Refined at CES 2017
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 12, 2017
CES 2017 didn’t knock my socks off with any groundbreaking news. Still, there were definite trends repeated at every booth corner. Streaming video and music is no longer news. Now companies are coming up with new ways to entice those disenchanted with their current TV provider as they try to capture the cord cutter market. UHD streaming will be increasingly available in HDR as more devices support the higher quality format. YouTube 360 videos are available on TVs and media players that have mouse capabilities. Many media streamer manufacturers are moving forward with voice commands. They will be incorporating Alexa or Google Home for either controlling the device or using the device to control the rest of the home.
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Headphone Reviews
Focal Elear Headphones
Steve Guttenberg  |  Jan 12, 2017

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Hand-crafted in France
Remarkable resolution
Super-easy to drive
Minus
13-foot-long cable is unwieldy

THE VERDICT
The Focal Elear is a world-class design, right up with the best of Audeze, Beyerdynamic, Grado, Hifiman, and Sennheiser’s ’phones.

I’m a lucky guy; I’ve heard almost all of the best headphones currently on the market, but I wasn’t expecting something in that league from Focal. I’ve enjoyed their Spirit headphones for years, but Elear is radically different from what came before. The most remarkable thing about the sound is that it’s not so easy to get a handle on. I will say this, though: Elear is hypertransparent, so you feel like you’re hearing a direct feed from the recording session. Build quality, design, and comfort are fully commensurate with the $999 price. They’re beautifully crafted and a pleasure to use.

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