LATEST ADDITIONS

British supergroup Asia consisted of four virtuosic musicians who shared an uncanny knack for distilling their progressive-leaning chops into pop rock for the masses. The evidence is on full display all over their chart-topping self-titled March 1982 debut album, and the Atmos version of its popular lead track “Heat of the Moment” makes it even more appealing across the board.

PRICE $399

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Atmos height effects from a high value soundbar
Easy to set up and use
Well-integrated small subwoofer
Good sonics for TV and movie watching
Minus
No expandability for surrounds
No network connection for music
No height channel level adjustment
Better for movies than music

THE VERDICT
Polk Audio’s Signa S4 makes some canny compromises to bring immersive audio to the masses at an affordable price.

When it comes to hi-fi and home theater, I'm a space hog. Some folks zero in on tight, room-shaking bass, others seek immaculate midrange accuracy or high frequency extension with gobs of etched detail. For me, it's always been about imaging and soundstage first. I can forgive a lot of sins if a system conveys the sense of a three-dimensional instrument, voice, or sound object in the listening room. This is what makes things real for me.

Nakamichi has expanded its Shockwafe series of high-end soundbar systems with an upgraded version of its flagship Ultra 9.2 SSE, an advanced version of the Pro 7.1 system we reviewed back in 2017.

Halloween Kills, the twelfth film in the Halloween franchise, picks up immediately following the events in the 2018 reboot of the original film of the same name. These latest entries were directed by David Gordon Green with a third installment, Halloween Ends, also to be directed by Green, planned for release later in 2022.