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The New iPad: Important and Unimportant
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Mar 23, 2012

Synopsis of every tech article in the days leading up to a new Apple release: “OMG STFU this new Apple thing is gonna be AMAZING!!!! I heard from a guy who knew a guy who saw a guy who says...”

And the days right after: “OMG stupid Apple, this new iThing didn’t cure all disease or make me immortal. Apple SUXORS!”

Yep, there’s a new iPad. Yep, it’s got more moreness. So let me say this: Yep, the new iPad is the best tablet you can buy... just like the old one. Cutting through the hype and BS, here’s why.

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New Products
New Gear: Emotiva Introduces the Affordable, Feature-Packed XMC-1 7.2 Channel Pre-Pro
Michael Berk  |  Mar 22, 2012

Affordable audiophile and home-theater gear leaders Emotiva have announced the new XMC-1, the first product to emerge in a revamped lineup of digital products from the company, designed by Moog and B&K veteran digital systems wizard and Emotiva VP of Engineering Ray Dennison.

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Power Amplifier ReviewsSurround Processor Reviews
Test Report: Bryston SP-3 Preamplifier/Processor and 9BSST2 5-Channel Amplifier
Daniel Kumin  |  Mar 22, 2012

It’s a fact of modern life. The higher you climb in the high end of anything, the less, at least in one sense, you will get. You will find, I believe, few gargoyles on buildings designed by I.M. Pei, and even fewer rear-seat DVD screens in Paganis.

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Surround Sound System ReviewsBookshelf Speaker Reviews
Test Report: Wharfedale DX-1 Speaker System
Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 21, 2012

It seemed that audio companies had surrendered the home-theater-in-a-box concept to the TV manufacturers.

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Ask S&V
LED Backlighting vs. Edgelighting
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 21, 2012
I hear you talk about LED backlighting and edgelighting in LCD TVs, and I can't seem to find which one my Samsung UN60D7000 uses. I thought it was backlit, but hearing you talk about it made me wonder if I was right.

Joe Souders

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Headphone Reviews
Review: WeSC Chambers by RZA Headphones Page 2
Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 21, 2012

We haven’t made any secret of our general disdain for headphones endorsed by hip-hop artists. Not that we have anything against hip-hop artists, nor is there any good reason why hip-hop ’phones should sound bad.  It’s just that many of them do.

In last year’s celebrity headphone test, we didn’t dig the Soul by Ludacris SL300WB at all, and had a mixed reaction to the Beats Pro and Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviator. But our not-unpleasant experience with the Sync by 50 SMS-WS got us thinking that maybe someone in the hip-hop world was starting to understand that while crazy, bass-heavy tonal balances may be initially impressive, they’re not something most of us want to live with on a day-to-day basis.

Next up in the battle of the rapperphones is the $275 WeSC Chambers by RZA.

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Headphone Reviews
Review: WeSC Chambers by RZA Headphones
Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 21, 2012

We haven't made any secret of our general disdain for headphones endorsed by hip-hop artists. Not that we have anything against hip-hop artists, nor is there any good reason why hip-hop 'phones should sound bad.  It's just that many of them do.

In last year's celebrity headphone test, we didn't dig the Soul by Ludacris SL300WB at all, and had a mixed reaction to the Beats Pro and Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviator. But our not-unpleasant experience with the Sync by 50 SMS-WS got us thinking that maybe someone in the hip-hop world was starting to understand that while crazy, bass-heavy tonal balances may be initially impressive, they're not something most of us want to live with on a day-to-day basis.

Next up in the battle of the rapperphones is the $275 WeSC Chambers by RZA.

Continue Reading »
New Products
New Gear: Axiom Audio Debuts Omnirectional Linear Field Radiating Speakers
Michael Berk  |  Mar 21, 2012

Making their formal debut tomorrow at Montreal's Salon Son & Image high-end show, Axiom Audio's new Omnirectional Linear Field Radiating Speakers are a brand new design, pairing front- and rear-baffle mounted drivers with custom DSP and a unique cabinet design to create a wholly new twist on transducers from the Canadian compa

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Test Report: GoldenEar Technology Triton Three Speakers
Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 20, 2012
GoldenEar Technology may have had the fastest rise to the top of any speaker manufacturer in history. The company started less than 2 years ago. Yet its very first product, the Triton Two tower speaker, was named Sound+Vision’s 2010 Audio Product of the Year — and practically every other audio publication raved about it, too.

It shouldn’t have come as too big a surprise, though. GoldenEar is the creation of Sandy Gross, a co-founder of Polk Audio and Definitive Technology, and engineer Don Givogue, the other co-founder of Def Tech. Still, to have people comparing your $2,500-per-pair speaker to $10,000-per-pair models is an accomplishment.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Muppets
David Vaughn  |  Mar 20, 2012

As a product of the Muppets generation I had high hopes for their return to the silver screen and eventually Blu-ray, but color me very disappointed. While the technical aspects of the Blu-ray are pure reference-quality with amazing detail, vibrant colors, and enveloping surround sound, the script leaves a lot to be desired with uninspiring human characters, a paint by numbers script, and middling musical numbers—and no, I don't think "Man or Muppet" should have won the Oscar. My kids have generally liked the Muppet productions but were just as disappointed in this one as I was, but at least it looked and sounded great and is a worthy candidate for showing off your gear.
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