LATEST ADDITIONS

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Spacious, rich sound
Gorgeous aesthetics
Tank-like build quality
Feature-packed
Minus
Small display
Limited wired connectivity options
Lacks room correction

THE VERDICT
The Marantz Model 40n is a thoroughly modern music streaming machine that sounds great and delivers a robust set of features without losing sight of the brand’s storied past.

I attended a launch event for the Marantz Model 40n a few months ago and marveled at just how far the iconic brand has come since founder Saul Marantz took his first steps as an audio pioneer way back in 1945. In true hobbyist fashion, he modified his car radio so he could listen to it at home and, once it was up and running there, continued tinkering with it to improve its performance.

It’s interesting how some people refer to certain summertime activities as either “hot” things to do, or “cool” things to do. When it comes to summertime listening, I tend to think it’s an intersection of both concepts. And when it comes to what I listen to for review in each weekly Spatial Audio File column during these summertime months, I consider certain tracks to be “smokin’ hot” and others to be as “cool as can be”—and sometimes, they’re actually some combo of both ideas together.

As always, each of the five hot/cool tracks that follow has been thoroughly spec’ed and checked by way of my personal deep-dive listening sessions on both my home system and headphones alike. You’ll find access to each and every one of them, alongside a gaggle of other stellar Made for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos cuts, within the ever-expanding Apple Music library.

And now, I give you this week’s hot-and-cool combo platter of five wonderfully immersive tracks, which are as follows. . .

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Full P3 color
Inky blacks
High brightness
Minus
Cluttered WebOS
eARC usability inconsistent

THE VERDICT
With its upgraded evo technology and new heat sink, the G2 Gallery Edition punches through the brightness limitations associated with OLED displays while retaining the vivid color, stunning blacks, and off-center viewing that have long been the prime appeals of OLED.

LG's new G2 OLED evo Gallery Edition is the replacement for last year's G1 and the flagship offering in LG's 2022 OLED lineup—excluding the $100,000 OLED R(ollable) model, which sits in a class all by itself. Like the G1, the G2 is designed to hug the wall and features a Gallery mode that, if selected, can display a revolving range of still images and artwork when it's not being used as a television. The set ships with only a slim wall-mount bracket but LG offers a conventional tabletop stand for $100 and, if you want a full-on Louvre vibe, an easel-like Gallery Stand for an extra $350.