LATEST ADDITIONS

Portable Player Reviews
Sharp GX-M10 Portable CD Stereo System
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 03, 2013

Dainty. Elegant. Classy. Understated. These terms apply to a great majority of iPod docks and speakers. None of them apply to the GX-M10. This boombox is a real bruiser. It weighs a beefy 16.8 pounds (20.2 pounds with batteries), and is 30.5 inches long. Roughly cylindrical in shape, it looks like something you'd use to knock out a Panzer tank. Except instead of being ordinance gray, it is exuberantly orange. If someone laughs at you for carrying around something so outrageous, you can express your displeasure by crushing them with it.

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Surround Sound System ReviewsBookshelf Speaker ReviewsSubwoofer Reviews
Boston Acoustics M25 Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 03, 2013  |  First Published: Apr 02, 2013
M25 Speaker System
Performance
Build Quality
Value

MSubwoofer
Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
Price: $3,345 At A Glance: Leather-like enclosure finish • Beefy subwoofer • Easy-listening, aggression-free treble

The question “what speakers should I buy?” is increasingly giving way to the more provocative “why should I buy stand-alone speakers at all?” Loudspeakers have to argue for their very existence in a world where consumers are logging fewer listening hours with component systems. Instead, stylish music sources such as tablets and smartphones are driving listeners toward equally stylish all-in-one wireless/docking systems and headphones. Today, the poor old loudspeaker has to work harder to attract attention. It has to convince you to buy it—oh, and one of those pesky audio/video receivers to power it.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Savages
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 03, 2013
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
Three-time Oscar winner Oliver Stone has made some interesting choices in his career, from instant classics (such as 1987’s Wall Street) to real head-scratchers (2010’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps). Leaning more into the latter camp is Savages, a beautifully photographed romantic crime drama about equally beautiful people who just so happen to be drug dealers by trade.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Game
Shane Buettner  |  Apr 03, 2013
Picture
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
When your breakout movie, Seven, ends with Gwyneth Paltrow’s severed head in a box, what do you do for an encore? 1997’s psycho thriller The Game is director David Fincher’s emphatic answer. Nobody plays a cold, callous one-percenter better than Michael Douglas. His Nicholas Van Orton here is clearly intended as a through-the-looking-glass play off of his iconic, late-’80s portrayal of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street.
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This Week
This Week in Movies and TV, April 2, 2013: Writers & Other Superheroes
Josef Krebs  |  Apr 02, 2013

Hemingway & Gellhorn

In his first film for television, director Philip Kaufman (Henry & June, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Right stuff) focuses for the first half on Ernest Hemingway (Clive Owen) and Martha Gellhorn (Nicole Kidman) falling in love during the Spanish Civil War.

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CinemaStyle
Mad Props
Michelle McCarthy  |  Apr 02, 2013
In the past, we’ve shown you options on how you can decorate your home theater with movie-prop replicas from some of your favorite blockbusters. But how about we take that a step further with props that were actually used on set? Hold the knife that Arnold Schwarzenegger wielded in Terminator 2, sport a helmet used in a battle scene in Gladiator, or try on one of Jet Li’s costumes from The One. Then show them off to your friends when they come by for a weekend double feature.
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This Week
This Week in Music, April 2, 2013: The Band Perry makes The Album Killer
Ken Richardson  |  Apr 02, 2013

The Band Perry: Pioneer

New release (Republic Nashville; tour dates)
Photo by Robby Klein

Sophomore slump? Not here. As soon as the banjo on the opening track, “Better Dig Two,” makes room for some choice electric-guitar power chords before the two instruments dance together, it’s clear that The Band Perry has lost none of its charm or chops.

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This Week
This Week in Music, April 2, 2013: The Band Perry makes The Album Killer
Ken Richardson  |  Apr 02, 2013

The Band Perry: Pioneer

New release (Republic Nashville; tour dates)
Photo by Robby Klein

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Wireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Review: Pioneer A4 Wireless Speaker
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Apr 01, 2013

I've reviewed a few of these types of speakers. Pioneer calls this one a "Wireless Speaker" but that's not really adequate for the category. Music streaming speaker (MSS?) is probably more accurate, if less pithy.

Either way, my experience has been that for most, it's function first, quality second. As in, you get sound, but it's not very good. Unless the MSS has some sort of special attention paid to sound quality, I try to avoid them.

What got my attention with this one, then? Well, the A4 has been tuned by none other than Andrew Jones, and given how amazing his inexpensive Pioneer speakers are, I figured this doodad was worth a look.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Harman Kardon AVR 1700 A/V Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 01, 2013
Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $499 At A Glance: Switch-mode power supply • Full Apple functionality • Unique Media Manager app

If you don’t enjoy paradox, life is no more fun than a sack of dirt. Here’s a long-running paradox in the home theater sphere: Some folks are turned off by audio/video receivers because they are so complex and loaded with features. So how do the people who design AVRs make them more appealing? Add more features!

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