LATEST ADDITIONS

Game Review: Alice: Madness Returns
Timothy J. Seppala  |  Jul 05, 2011

Without a doubt, Alice: Madness Returns has the most beautiful and well-realized aesthetic of any game I’ve seen in ages. But, I’m begging you to never play it. Why? Because it’s heartbreaking that a world rife with so many imaginative possibilities ends up feeling so empty, so dull, and so soulless.

Continue Reading »
Music Reviews
“Keeping Score”: Where the Classics Are Current — and High-Tech
Robert Ripps  |  Jul 02, 2011

“I sometimes think I should’ve been a filmmaker rather than a musician.”

So says Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor and music director of the San Francisco Symphony.

Continue Reading »
The Connected LifeAudio Video News
URC Looks to take Total Control
John Sciacca  |  Jul 01, 2011

Friday the 13th is nothing to fear this month as remote control giant URC releases the first wave of its new Total Control platform of housewide automation, control, and audio distribution components today.

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Streaming Audio to a Pre/Pro
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 01, 2011
I just bought an Integra DHC 80.2 and want to stream music and movies from my HP laptop (or create a separate server) to it with a hard-wired Ethernet connection. However, I want the best possible sound. How can I do this?

Dale

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Mouser Electronics: more than just a catalog
Michael Berk  |  Jul 01, 2011

 

Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Sony Barks Back on LG 3D Study
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 01, 2011
Sony has issued a spirited rebuttal to a recent LG-commissioned study claiming 80 percent of consumers prefer passive 3D.

In emails sent to the editors of TWICE, Sony's Mike Abary, home division senior VP, and Samsung's John Revie, senior VP, both pointed out that 3D based on active shutter glasses is outselling 3D based on passive glasses.

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
13 Assassins—Magnet
Kris Deering  |  Jun 30, 2011
Video: 4/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3/5
Cult director Takashi Miike delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war torn future.
Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Editions—Warner Bros./New Line Cinema
Kris Deering  |  Jun 30, 2011
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 5/5
"Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring" - With the help of a courageous fellowship of friends and allies, Frodo embarks on a perilous mission to destroy the legendary One Ring. "Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers" - In the middle chapter of this historic movie trilogy, the Fellowship is broken but its quest to destroy the One Ring continues. "Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" - The final battle for Middle-earth begins. Frodo and Sam, led by Gollum, continue their dangerous mission toward the fires of Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring.
Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Compact Home-Theater Speakers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 30, 2011
I read in a recent Ask Scott post ("Building a System") that you thought full-range speakers in the system under discussion would be overkill for watching movies. One of the reasons for using bookshelf or compact speakers for the front left/right channels—tonal matching—was also highlighted as an appealing quality in Home Theater's review of B&W 805 compact speaker system (seen here).

I am looking to set up a surround system for the sole purpose of watching movies (no music) in a 12x12 room. As a general rule, do you recommend a system with matching front and surround speakers over a system with full-range fronts and compact surrounds, knowing there will be a sub either way? Most of the systems I see reviewed in magazines as well as all the recommended systems at my favorite local hi-fi store match large floorstanding front speakers with small surrounds, but your advice seems to contradict this.

Johann Dutton

Continue Reading »
Premiere Design
Estelon Model XA Speaker
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jun 30, 2011
Who would have thought that Estonia, a tiny republic on the Baltic Sea in the far northeast corner of the European continent, is home to a high-end speaker maker? Estelon was founded in 2006 to bring the vision of designer Alfred Vassllkov to life. His first product—the Model XA—is still the company's flagship.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X