LATEST ADDITIONS

AV Receiver Buying Tips
How to Buy an A/V Receiver
Rob Sabin  |  Oct 28, 2016
It’s easy in this brave new world of Ultra-Uber-HDR-4K HDTV to forget that the sound is still half—yes, half—of the home theater experience. Even if you’re actually smart enough to know that, and you wander into your local big-box electronics store in an effort to improve upon the tiny rear-facing drivers that pass for flat-panel TV speakers, you’re probably in for a knee-deep wade through soundbars and Bluetooth speakers before you stumble onto the audio/video receivers. You remember receivers: Those boxy things? Bunch of buttons and knobs and lights on the front? At one time, people used to called them stereos? “Oh yeah...those,” says the young skeptic festooned with the store logo on his shirt. “I think we still carry a couple of them in that back room over there.”
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Emotiva Ships New Amps and Speakers
SV Staff  |  Oct 28, 2016
Emotiva Audio is now shipping a number of products announced earlier this year, including the entry-level BasX series of amplifiers and preamp/tuners, new Airmotiv speaker models, and the XPA Gen 3 reference amplifier.
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Audio Video News
Detroit Startup Embarks on a Unique AV Mission
SV Staff  |  Oct 28, 2016
Startup Detroit Audio Lab has embarked on a unique AV mission: Bring audio manufacturing back to the U.S. by handcrafting audiophile-quality speakers using wood reclaimed from blighted homes and businesses that once thrived during Motor City’s golden age, which dates back to the first mass-produced automobile—Henry Ford’s Model T.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Anthem MRX 1120 A/V Receiver Review
David Vaughn  |  Oct 27, 2016

Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support
Anthem Room Correction (ARC)
11 amp channels in one box
Minus
ARC doesn’t calibrate dual subwoofers individually
Pricey

THE VERDICT
One of the finest-sounding AVRs I’ve had the pleasure to audition, though it’ll cost ya.

Much like a luxury sports car, the flagship AVR is expected to have every bell and whistle under the hood in order to appeal to the well-heeled crowd that’s willing to drop a few thousand dollars on a piece of electronics. The real bummer is that even if you spend the extra cash on a flagship, there’s no such thing as totally future-proofing your investment, due to the rapidly changing landscape of the home theater business.

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Ask S&V
Can a Soundbar Produce a Convincing 5.1 Music Presentation?
Al Griffin  |  Oct 27, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q The rock group Genesis and several other bands have released albums in 5.1 surround. Is it true there’s no way to listen to these recordings without losing detail when using a soundbar for playback? Or would you have to use an actual five-speaker surround sound system? —Robert Hadley Jr. / via e-mail

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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 1990: IMDb Is Born
SV Staff  |  Oct 27, 2016
Twenty-six years ago this month, English computer programmer and obsessive movie fan Colin (Col) Needham launched the Internet Movie Database, now known as IMDb.
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Audio Video News
Ballers: Season 2 Now Available on Digital HD
SV Staff  |  Oct 27, 2016
If you’re looking for different spin on football, beyond the usual Sunday/Monday/Thursday night games, Season 2 of HBO’s hit comedy series Ballers is now available for download and streaming.
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Music Reviews
The Traveling Wilburys: Revisited & Remastered
Mike Mettler  |  Oct 26, 2016
Performance
Sound
There are supergroups, and then there are The Traveling Wilburys. The wink/nudge humor behind the band name and the multiple nicknames of its five members is all George Harrison, the late Monty Python–loving Beatle, who put together a cream-of-the-crop collective for a pair of fabulously harmonious albums, 1988’s Vol. 1 and 1990’s Vol. 3. Harrison coined the word “Wilbury” in reference to in-studio recording gaffes attributed to faulty equipment, of which he told producer Jeff Lynne: “We’ll bury ’em in the mix.”
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The Connected Life
Day and Date: How Much Would You Pay?
John Sciacca  |  Oct 26, 2016
For many, going out to the movies is the perfect excuse to escape from the house. Get away from the kids. Unwind from work. Enjoy a date night. Whatever. Many people love the shared, communal experience of the local Cineplex. And, for the longest time, that has been the only way for law abiding, non-Hollywood types to watch a first room movie without waiting months for it to release to the home market whether on disc, on demand rental, or streaming.

But what if there were a way to watch movies at home, day-and-date when they were released in the theater? Would this be worth something to you? And if so, how much…?

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Klipsch Expands Headphone Lineup
SV Staff  |  Oct 26, 2016
Klipsch has introduced four headphones, including two wireless models, at prices ranging from $199 to $299.
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