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Headphone Reviews
Apple AirPods Pro 3: Enhanced Comfort, Sound Quality, and Useful Features
Barb Gonzalez  |  Sep 22, 2025

Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $249

AT A GLANCE
Plus

  • New shape and foam-infused tips comfortable for all-day wear.
  • Improved sound quality - big soundstage, clarity, and better bass.
  • Live Translation in person or on calls.
  • Heart rate sensor.
  • Noise reduction deadens outside sounds and conversation awareness lowers the AirPods volume when it detects your voice.
  • Automatically connects to Apple devices.
  • Apple's Hearing Test can turn AirPods into an FDA-authorized hearing aid (for mild–moderate hearing loss)..
Minus
  • Most features are only available when paired with Apple devices.
  • No USB‑C cable or wireless charger in the box
  • No equalizer or audio styles choices.

THE VERDICT
The Apple AirPods Pro 3 bring significant upgrades in comfort, sound quality, and noise reduction, making them not just convenient for Apple users but great performers on their own. Still priced at $249, they stand as arguably the best wireless earbuds in this price range.

Since their debut in 2016, AirPods have evolved considerably. The original AirPods Pro launched in 2019, and Apple has consistently updated them every three years. The AirPods Pro 3, however, showcase some of the most significant changes yet, from their redesigned shape and internal architecture to new features like an invisible heart rate monitor.

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Audio Video News
UK Hi‑Fi Show Live Heads to Ascot This Weekend
Mark Henninger  |  Sep 21, 2025
The UK Hi‑Fi Show Live returns this weekend to England’s Ascot Racecourse, a high‑end‑focused event that trades the usual hotel hallways for a unique venue.
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Music ReviewsThe S&V Interview
Posdnous on Why De La Soul Can Do Anything in Dolby Atmos
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 21, 2025

In recent months, five albums by alt-hip-hop pioneers De La Soul have been made available in Atmos, including their groundbreaking 1989 debut, 3 Feet High and Rising. On a recent Zoom call, De La Soul’s Posdnous and S&V music editor Mike Mettler got down to discussing the good vibes of all that good ol’ De La magic being transformed into the full 360, the “gumbo” approach to their layering skills, and where they got that ding at the end of De La Soul Is Dead. . .

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New Products
Devialet Launches Phantom Ultimate Wireless Speakers
Mark Henninger  |  Sep 18, 2025
Devialet has introduced Phantom Ultimate, the latest generation of its compact, spherical wireless speakers. The line consists of the flagship Phantom Ultimate 108 dB ($3,800) and the smaller Phantom Ultimate 98 dB ($1,900). Both are offered in Light Pearl and Deep Forest finishes; an Opéra de Paris edition adds hand-applied 22-carat gold accents at $4,300 (108 dB) and $2,400 (98 dB). Devialet says the 98 dB model is available now, while the 108 dB is open for pre-orders via Devialet stores, premium dealers, and online.
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Audio Video News
Denon, Marantz, and Classé rebrand HEOS as “Powered by HEOS”
Mark Henninger  |  Sep 17, 2025
HEOS, the multiroom audio platform used by Denon, Marantz, and Classé, is being rebranded as “Powered by HEOS.” According to the companies, the new identity aligns with updates to the HEOS app and clarifies that HEOS is an embedded platform technology rather than a stand-alone product line.
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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
TRON & TRON: Legacy 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 15, 2025
TRON
Picture
Sound
Extras
TRON: Legacy
Picture
Sound
Extras

To younger readers who can't quite grasp the appeal of taking a trip to "a world inside the computer," as the poster advertised, a little context might be useful. In 1982, any computer more powerful than an Atari 2600 was considered pretty exotic, and while the visuals might seem rudimentary today, audiences had never seen their like before. Dramatically, TRON is well-crafted, with endearing computer whiz Flynn (Jeff Bridges) making friends and foes in his quest to defeat a menacing rogue AI after being zapped into the foreboding domain of bits and bytes.

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New Products
Apple's New AirPods Pro 3: Quieter Sonic Canvas, Smarter Tricks
Mark Henninger  |  Sep 15, 2025
I was in Cupertino for Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 reveal, brought a pair home, and did some early listening away from campus. The pitch lines up with what I’m hearing so far: a quieter backdrop and firmer low end. Apple’s explanation is straightforward. The buds use a new multiport acoustic architecture that controls airflow into the ear canal, paired with foam‑infused ear tips (now five sizes, including XXS) to improve the passive seal.
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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Jurassic World: Rebirth 4K Review
Ralph Potts  |  Sep 12, 2025
Jurassic World: Rebirth
Picture
Sound
Extras

Jurassic World: Rebirth takes place five years after the events seen in 2022's Jurassic World: Dominion. The story follows high stakes security operative Zora Bennett, who is hired by a representative of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies to lead a team to the most dangerous place on Earth, an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park, which was abandoned after a horrific accident 17 years earlier.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Premium Subscribers Get Spotify's Long-Awaited Lossless Audio
Mark Henninger  |  Sep 11, 2025
Spotify Premium subscribers can now stream lossless audio, with the service beginning its rollout September 10 across multiple markets. The feature delivers up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC quality and works with smartphones, tablets, computers, and a range of connected audio devices.
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Soundbar Reviews
Sony BRAVIA Theater Bar 9 Review: 360 Degree Sound
Barb Gonzalez  |  Sep 07, 2025
Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1399

AT A GLANCE
Plus

  • 360 Degree Spatial Sound Mapping calibrates to your room and your exact listening spot
  • 360 Degree Reality Audio expands music to fill the room
  • Voice Zoom boosts dialogue for better clarity and Audio DRC brings up soft sound effects
Minus
  • No clear status display without Sony Bravia TV or Sony Bravia Connect app
  • Not as good for music as movies - compressed sound when not using 360 Reality Audio or Dolby Atmos
  • Inconsistent connectivity

THE VERDICT
For those with Sony products including a Sony Bravia TV, the Sony BRAVIA Theater 9 is a good choice for a fun surround sound experience that fills the room.

Introduction

The Sony BRAVIA Theater 9 is a home theater soundbar that mimics Dolby Atmos surround sound by creating "phantom speakers" through 360-degree spatial sound mapping. Home Theater is more dramatic when paired with wireless rear speakers and a subwoofer.

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