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Streaming Device Reviews
Roku Streaming Stick Plus Review: Solid Travel-Friendly Budget Streamer
Barb Gonzalez  |  Nov 27, 2025

Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $39.99 (sale $29.99- black friday sale $19.99)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Compact and easy to take on the go.
Quick navigation
Easy Roku setup and use
Minus
Doesn’t have Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos
Requires USB connection for power
Must be close to WiFi Router with strong signal

THE VERDICT
Roku makes solid streamers, and the Roku Streaming Stick Plus is a good performer. It may not have the highest-quality specs, but it's a good budget choice for on-the-go use or on a secondary TV.

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4K TV ReviewsLCD TV Reviews
65" Hisense 65U8QG mini-LED LCD 4K TV Review
Greg Tarr  |  Nov 25, 2025

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,199.99

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Over 3,000 nits peak HDR brightness
Fast 165Hz advanced gaming rate
Premium level color accuracy
Wide viewing angles
Competitive price
Built-in NextGen TV tuner
Minus
Inaccurate out-of-box HDR levels
Observable haloing in motion targets
Slight screen reflection
Only 3 HDMI inputs
Hollow, boxy on-board sound with occasional distortion

THE VERDICT
The Hisense 65U8QG is a highly bright 4K quantum dot mini-LED TV that produces an excellent all-around picture for both movies and live video and a nice package of features to please advanced gamers and novices alike. It can also be found at a good value price for a premium television of this caliber around the holidays.

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Music Reviews
Best Music Box Sets Roundup, Part 1: The Beatles’ Anthology Collection, Plus Four Fab Multidisc Solo Releases
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 24, 2025

Welcome to our end-of-year multi-part “Best Music Box Sets” series to help one and all with legit gift-giving ideas and/or, shall we say, audiophile rationalizations for filling out our own collections accordingly. Read S&V music editor Mike Mettler’s Beatles-related box set recommendations to see which ones—from both The Fabs collectively, and from each of their respective solo careers—rate way beyond compare for any and all holiday shopping endeavors. . .

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Soundbar Reviews
KEF XIO Dolby Atmos Soundbar Review
Tom Norton  |  Nov 19, 2025

Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
An impressive one-piece home theater solution
Setup requires little space
Excellent sound
Minus
Pricey

THE VERDICT
A premium soundbar has become an intriguing option for audio enthusiasts who can't afford the space-hogging and/or budget-busting required for a complex and fully discrete home theater installation. The KEF XIO's striking performance will surprise many dedicated and hard-to-please audiophiles.

The concept of home theater began before the year 2000. While the audio components needed to make the idea work could initially be cobbled together from parts originally designed for traditional two-channel audio, the video side remained woefully behind. Yes, there were interesting developments in that direction, notably by Henry Kloss and his NovaBeam video projector.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Bowers & Wilkins Expands McLaren Partnership with New Px8 S2 McLaren Edition Headphones
Mark Henninger  |  Nov 19, 2025
Bowers & Wilkins has announced the Px8 S2 McLaren Edition, a special version of its flagship wireless headphones developed in collaboration with McLaren Automotive and the McLaren Formula 1 Team. The headphones are available starting November 19, 2025.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
FiiO Debuts Two Jade Audio Headphones and the BR15 Bluetooth Receiver
Mark Henninger  |  Nov 19, 2025
FiiO has introduced two Jade Audio headphones—the open-back planar magnetic JT7 and the open-back dynamic JT3—alongside the BR15, a compact desktop Bluetooth receiver with an onboard 24-bit R2R DAC. All three target first-step hi-fi buyers with low prices and full-system flexibility.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Kaleidescape Mini Terra Prime Movie Server Debuts at $5995
Mark Henninger  |  Nov 19, 2025
Kaleidescape announced the Mini Terra Prime movie server on November 18, the latest and most compact addition to its Terra Prime line. The solid-state unit provides 8TB of internal storage, enough for roughly 125 of Kaleidescape’s high-bitrate 4K movies, and is for system owners who need silent, rack-friendly expansion.
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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Battle of the Best Pictures: CODA v. Cuckoo’s Nest 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 12, 2025
Cuckoo’s Nest
Picture
Sound
Extras
CODA
Picture
Sound
Extras

The Best Picture Oscar winners from 1975 and 2021 are arriving on 4K disc for the first time just a week apart, bringing us two quite different dramas that allow us to revisit the best of the best.

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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
F1: The Movie 4K Review
Ralph C. Potts  |  Nov 11, 2025
> Picture
Sound
Extras

F1: The Movie tells the story of Formula 1 racecar driver Sonny Hayes who was dubbed “the greatest that never was.” Sonny was the sports most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career.

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Bookshelf Speaker ReviewsCustom Installation Equipment Reviews
Open Sound, Closed Back Wireless: Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Headphones
Mark Henninger  |  Nov 06, 2025

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $799

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Superb sound quality
Light, compact, and comfortable
Stable multipoint across iOS/Android/Mac/PC
Useful app with EQ, ANC modes, wear sensor, auto‑standby
USB‑C digital audio and analog cable in the box
Minus
Others cancel more noise
Pricier than many rivals

THE VERDICT
Bowers & Wilkins’ Px8 S2 favor fidelity and comfort over brute‑force hush. They deliver deep, clean bass, lively dynamics, and an easy fit that makes me reach for them first. Not the strongest ANC, but as an everyday luxury over‑ear that works across Apple and Android, they’re the set I want to travel with.

Introduction
I’ve been chasing portable hi‑fi since the paper‑route Walkman era. Many stops since then, but the Px8 S2 are the first wireless ANC cans that check every box I care about without adding bulk or friction. This is a lifestyle piece: slip them on, get real hi‑fi, and keep moving.

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