LATEST ADDITIONS

Vote
How Often Have You Replaced Your TV In The Last 10 Years?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 24, 2012
Throughout my childhood, I remember visiting my grandparents and watching their Zenith TV (which used a Space Command ultrasonic remote, the source of the term "clicker"). Back then, most folks kept their TV for 15 or 20 years before replacing it, usually when the old one finally gave up the ghost. And there was little need to—TV technology didn't evolve much in those days. Once color television was well established, TVs were much the same from one year to the next.

Now, of course, the replacement rate for TVs is much faster, because performance improves, screens get bigger, and cool new features are added while prices drop every year. This leads me to ask, how often have you replaced your main TV in the last 10 years? Has your pace of replacement increased over that time?

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

How Often Have You Replaced Your TV In The Last 10 Years?
Continue Reading »
Soundbar Reviews
Zvox Audio Z-Base 580 Soundbar
Lawrence E. Ullman  |  Feb 24, 2012

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $500 At A Glance: Designed for use with stand-mounted TVs • Clean, powerful, well-balanced sound • Improved dialog intelligibility compared to TV speakers • Transparent operation via your TV or set-top box remote

One of the great things about the audio business is that it's still possible for new companies to appear seemingly out of nowhere and—thanks to a rare combination of creativity, skill, and luck—manage to carve out a comfortable niche for themselves. The rise of Zvox Audio is a case in point.

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Torn Between Two AVRs
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 24, 2012
I have a dedicated 400-square-foot theater room with a 7.1 surround system used entirely for movie viewing. I currently have a Pioneer VSX-1019 A/V receiver and plan on replacing it with either an Anthem MRX 700 or Arcam AVR400. I am torn between these two models. The Anthem has great room correction and video processing, while the Arcam has more power and lower distortion. I'm looking for the most enveloping sound experience.

Greg Barnett

Continue Reading »
Blu-ray Movie Reviews
J. Edgar
David Vaughn  |  Feb 24, 2012

Clint Eastwood is arguably one of the best directors in Hollywood, and even though he's in the twilight of his life, he doesn't seem to be slowing down. While J. Edgar won't be considered one of his better films, I enjoyed it a lot more than most of the critics due to the fabulous acting by Leonardo DiCaprio and the historical significance of the subject. The Blu-ray boasts an above-average video encode with solid detail and intentionally understated colors, but the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is the true star of the show due to reference-quality imaging, dynamics, and frequency response.
Continue Reading »
Tech2
Verizon and Redbox: Who Cares?
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Feb 24, 2012

Verizon and Redbox recently announced a partnership to launch a streaming/physical disc service. Yawn.

But I’ve been getting a lot of emails and questions about it recently, so maybe there’s something to it. Could it really be a contender? Could it really give Netflix serious competition?

I blew the suspense with the title, didn’t I? My bad.

Continue Reading »
Road Gear
Bluetooth Hits the Road
Doug Newcomb  |  Feb 23, 2012

If you like listening to music in the car, things just keep getting better, thanks to an explosion of technology that allows more options for taking your tunes on the road.

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Plasma in a Sun Room
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 22, 2012
I am looking to buy a TV for my sun room, which is 18x20 and has two 6x4 windows on three of the four walls, with the fourth wall facing the inside of my home. The TV would be located on this fourth wall. The room does get a lot of sun, but all the windows have blinds that can be closed fully to block out all meaningful direct sunlight, although some indirect sunlight does seep through.

I'm thinking about getting the Panasonic TC-P55VT30, but I'm concerned about any plasma TV's ability to deal with the brightness of this room during the day. On the other hand, also important is off-axis viewing, which is a plasma strength and an LCD weakness. Will the plasma wash out during the day even with the blinds closed due to the seeping/indirect sunlight? If so, what LED-LCD would you recommend, since I assume all plasmas would have the same issue? If there is a plasma that would not suffer this issue, I would welcome that name also.

Steven Lawless

Continue Reading »
Integrated Amp Reviews
Review: Pass Labs INT-150 Integrated Amplifier
Michael Trei  |  Feb 22, 2012

Few audio companies are as closely associated with a single individual as Pass Laboratories is with its founder Nelson Pass, a man who has always blazed his own path when it comes to designing audio gear. Pass founded Threshold Electronics back in the early 1970s, but when he wanted to explore new, simpler circuit topologies in the early 1990s, he created Pass Labs as a way to market his latest creations.

The two integrated amps in the Pass Labs line, the INT-150 and INT-30A, are a good example of his less-than-conventional approach, seeing as both appear to be  identical except for the critical question of output power. Physically the two amps are indistinguishable, with exactly the same functions, weight, dimensions, and even price tag. It’s only when you take a peek at the spec sheet that the differences become apparent, with the INT-150 delivering a healthy 150 watts per-channel, while the INT-30A tops out at just one-fifth that amount.

So what gives? Why would anyone buy an inline four when they’re offering you the V-12 for the same money?

Continue Reading »
Power Amplifier Reviews
Review: Pass Labs INT-150 Integrated Amplifier Page 2
Michael Trei  |  Feb 22, 2012

Few audio companies are as closely associated with a single individual as Pass Laboratories is with its founder Nelson Pass, a man who has always blazed his own path when it comes to designing audio gear. Pass founded Threshold Electronics back in the early 1970s, but when he wanted to explore new, simpler circuit topologies in the early 1990s, he created Pass Labs as a way to market his latest creations.

The two integrated amps in the Pass Labs line, the INT-150 and INT-30A, are a good example of his less-than-conventional approach, seeing as both appear to be  identical except for the critical question of output power. Physically the two amps are indistinguishable, with exactly the same functions, weight, dimensions, and even price tag. It's only when you take a peek at the spec sheet that the differences become apparent, with the INT-150 delivering a healthy 150 watts per-channel, while the INT-30A tops out at just one-fifth that amount.

So what gives? Why would anyone buy an inline four when they're offering you the V-12 for the same money?

Continue Reading »
Bluetooth Speaker Reviews
Review: Geneva Lab XS Portable Bluetooth Speaker
Brent Butterworth  |  Feb 21, 2012

Sadly, I’m old enough to remember when the mark of a tech-savvy traveler was a hand-wound folding alarm clock. So, apparently, is someone at Geneva Lab, a company known for making stylish, capable — and pleasingly plump — iPod docks. The Lab’s new XS Bluetooth speaker/FM radio/alarm combines styling cues from the company’s larger systems and from classic analog travel clocks.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X