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Denon: New Headphones, New Docks, New Look
Brent Butterworth  |  May 30, 2012

Denon’s been to headphones what the Rolling Stones have been to rock: Both enjoy an unassailable reputation even though they haven’t done anything significant for a long time. I’m betting the Stones stick to that plan, but as of yesterday, Denon’s back in play with a new line of 11 headphones — plus a couple of cool new AirPlay/DLNA speakers, too.

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Soundbar Reviews
AudioSource S3D60 Soundbar
Lawrence E. Ullman  |  May 30, 2012
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $350 At a Glance: Disappointing sound quality • Minimal feature set • Awkward wall-mounting provisions

AudioSource might not be a household name, but anyone who has been involved in the world of custom A/V installation for any length of time will be familiar with the Oregon-based manufacturer's extensive line of in-wall speakers and multi-room audio-distribution electronics. Given AudioSource's expertise with compact speakers and amplifiers, combining the two in the form of a soundbar seems like a smart move for the company.

The S3D60 under review here is a single-piece, 2-channel soundbar, which means it must rely on virtual surround technology to impart a surround-sound experience. In this case, AudioSource is using a third-party solution called Sonic Emotion Absolute 3D. Given the S3D60's relatively hefty 5-inch cabinet depth (6 inches if wall mounted) and width of 38 inches, this soundbar is scaled to match TVs measuring roughly 46 inches and up.

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 113: Kevin Miller
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 29, 2012
ISF video calibrator Kevin Miller talks about the Eighth Annual Flat Panel Shootout held at Value Electronics in Scarsdale, New York, where some 70 participants rated six high-end flat panels—the LG 60PM9700, Panasonic TC-P65VT50, and Samsung PN64E8000 plasmas as well as the Panasonic TC-L47WT50, Samsung UN60ES8000, and Sharp Elite PRO-60X5FD LED-LCD TVs—after they were all calibrated as close to correct as possible. Which one came out on top? Find out here.

Run Time: 56:10

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Accessory Reviews
Biscotti High-Def TV Phone
Bob Ankosko  |  May 29, 2012
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $129 At a Glance: Turns any HDTV into a videophone • Easy-to-use onscreen interface • Simple set-up—usually

Don’t be fooled by the name and calligraphic logo. You won’t find this Biscotti at Starbucks or the local pastry shop, but it does pop up on Amazon.com when you search “Biscotti TV Phone” (“Biscotti” alone leads you to an excellent selection of the scrumptious Italian biscuits). Although video chatting on computers has been around for years, business-style video conferencing on a big screen is still rare among everyday consumers—something Biscotti Inc. hopes to change with its tiny Biscotti-shaped TV phone.

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Audio Video News
A Cinema With Sense Appeal
Jamie Sorcher  |  May 29, 2012
For an upscale night out at the movies without sacrificing your audio or video standards, Living Room Theaters in Portland, Oregon, is the ticket. The sophisticated cinema—housed in a historic building—blends ambiance, seating, service, and décor with cutting-edge technology.
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Gadget Gary
Tune Up
Gary Dell'Abate  |  May 29, 2012

I just rewired my home audio/video gear — for the entire house. Wait a minute, you say. Didn’t I read in this very magazine 6 years ago that you built a house and wired it to the hilt?

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Headphone Reviews
Review: B&W P3 Headphones
Brent Butterworth  |  May 28, 2012

There are speaker companies better-known than B&W, but I doubt any has a more enviable reputation. B&Ws have been a fave of audiophiles and recording engineers for decades. But the best indicator of B&W’s rep would probably be a walk through an audio show in China, where you’ll see no other speaker brand so brazenly copied.

Nowadays, though, B&W seems focused on compact and portable products, such as its Zeppelin Air and P5 and C5 headphones. Can’t blame B&W for wanting to surf the market trends, but headphones, especially, are so different from speakers that a company’s expertise in one is little indicator of skill in the other.

All three of the products I just mentioned have received rave reviews, though. That praise gives us great hope for the P3, a smaller, more portable, $100-less-expensive version of the P5.

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Vote
Would You Want to Control the Audio Mix?
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 25, 2012
In the Ultimate Tech blog this week, I describe a new technology from the 3D Audio Alliance that will allow consumers to alter an audio mix, placing individual sound objects, such as instruments, vocals, sound effects, and so on, wherever they want in a 3D soundfield and changing each one's relative volume. It's a fascinating idea, but I wonder if it's something consumers will want.

If this technology was available to you, would you want to play around with the mix, or would you prefer to simply sit back and enjoy the audio passively? Do you think many content creators will opt to allow consumers that much control over their material?

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

Would You Want to Control the Audio Mix?
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Premiere Design
3DAA Demos MDA Director
Scott Wilkinson  |  May 25, 2012
The concept of 3D audio is gaining a lot of traction lately, in both commercial and consumer settings. Tom Norton recently wrote about his experience with a system called Imm Sound, which employs many speakers around and above the audience in commercial cinemas, as does Dolby Atmos and Barco Auro. On the home front, several companies have developed technologies that purport to create 3D soundfields from two speakers or a soundbar, including Gen Audio's Astound Sound and Sonic Emotion's Absolute 3D, both of which have been discussed on the Home Theater Geeks podcast here and here, respectively.

Then there's SRS Labs, which has been working on 3D audio perhaps longer than anyone else. Not only does this company offer a variety of proprietary soundfield-expansion algorithms, it is also the founding member of the 3D Audio Alliance (3DAA), which is working on an open-standard specification called Multi-Dimensional Audio, or MDA.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Marantz SR6006 A/V Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 25, 2012

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $1,200 At A Glance: AirPlay and Bluetooth connectivity • Porthole design • Marantz audiophile tradition continues

Few brands offer as many entry points into audiophilia as Marantz. The vintage angle alone is priceless. Cruise eBay and Audiogon for everything from pricey restorations of vintage tube components to affordable, classic stereo receivers from the 1970s. The present-day Marantz, an honored member of the D&M Holdings family, is the brand to look to for answers to questions like, “Does anyone still make a decent-sounding, standalone CD player?” In some future lifetime, I may explore the potential of such bleeding-edge Reference Series components as the SC-7S2 stereo preamp ($6,500) or the TT-15S1 turntable ($1,500) with the acrylic chassis and platter. But Marantz’s lines of A/V receivers and surround separates have plenty of meat on the bone for both high-end and real-world home theater buffs. In fact, many of Marantz’s multichannel products are adorned with the same distinctive porthole display as the highest-performing members of the brand’s two-channel lines. Putting a round display on a product doesn’t necessarily guarantee quality, but the migration of this cosmetic signature does suggest that Marantz holds surround audiophiles and stereophiles in equally high regard.

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