LATEST ADDITIONS

On-Wall Speaker Reviews
Angstrom Suono Sonata 200 On-Wall Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 14, 2006
Speak of the devil.

In the Faustian struggle for the soul of the audio industry, Mephistopheles mans the sales floor, giving the public what it wants, namely on-wall speakers. The beckoning demon's proposition is irresistible. If you're hanging a flat-panel display, why not hang speakers there, too? All other things being equal, on-walls are at a sonic disadvantage when it comes to soundstage depth. But, as any competent demon knows, all things are rarely equal. So, let's restate the proposition: If on-walls are what you want, why not buy the best-sounding ones you can find? If they sound good in the space and look good on the wall, you might find yourself handing the demon your credit card.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Infinity Cascade Speaker System
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 14, 2006
Flat and fit.

How would you feel if you woke up one day in a perfect body? You'd pull back the blanket and look down on a perfectly flat tummy (something I haven't seen in years, although heaven knows I'm trying). Combination skin is a thing of the past—you seem to have been remade in some wonderful material. Eager to check yourself out in a mirror, you cross the room to find yourself resculpted in new and slimmer proportions. And, when you open your mouth, depending on your gender, you have either the purest soprano or the noblest baritone. In fact, you have both. I think this metaphor may be getting a bit perverse.

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AV Receiver ReviewsOn-Wall Speaker Reviews
PSB VisionSound 300 Speaker System and Marantz SR8500 A/V Receiver
Steve Guttenberg  |  Sep 14, 2006
The sweet sounds of success.

Neil Young was on NPR chatting about his new movie, Heart of Gold, when he uttered a line that stuck with me: "The art of singing is making a sound that comes from your heart." Thanks Neil, I'm co-opting the idea to describe what distinguishes great home theater systems—their sound touches your heart. Yeah, that's it. While components are getting better all the time, many lack that special something. There's nothing obviously out of whack, it's just that their sound doesn't connect on an emotional level. Sometimes the individual components are all top notch, but, if they're not well matched to each other, the sound suffers. When everything clicks, you know it. That was certainly the case when I hooked up Marantz's SR8500 A/V receiver with a set of PSB's VisionSound VS300 speakers and SubSeries 5i subwoofer. They're all charmers.

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Kinky Boots—Buena Vista
Gary Frisch  |  Sep 14, 2006
Audio: 4
Video: 3
Extras: 3
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Grilled—New Line
Tony DeCarlo  |  Sep 14, 2006
Audio: 2
Video: 2
Extras: 1
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Tsotsi—Miramax
Corrina Y. Jones  |  Sep 14, 2006
Audio: 4
Video: 4
Extras: 4
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Cinema Series Pro 1080p LCD Flat Panels From Toshiba
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 14, 2006

Toshiba wasn’t satisfied with introducing two new HD DVD players. Also announced were two new flagship REGZA LCD flat panels to the new and exclusive Cinema Series Pro Line. The 42” 42LZ196 will retail for $3,399 with the 47” 47LZ196 at $4,599. Both sets will be available this month. Both sets boast full 1920x1080 resolution.

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Next-Gen HD DVD From Toshiba For 2006
Shane Buettner  |  Sep 14, 2006

Toshiba fired another salvo in the ongoing next-gen HD disc format war by announcing that it will have its second-generation HD DVD players to market by the end of 2006.
The $499 HD-A2 will street in October, with the step-up $999 HD-XA2 following in December.

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New HD DVD Players
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 14, 2006
Toshiba today announced their next generation HD DVD players, which has to be some kind of record. After all, the first generation of players has only been out for 6 months. The HD-A2 is $499 and will be out in October. It’s still 1080i. More interesting is the HD-XA2, at $999. This one (shown) is 1080p and HDMI 1.3. It will be available in December.
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Toshiba's New LCD Line
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 14, 2006
Toshiba also debuted their Cinema Series Pro line of LCDs, in 42 and 47-inch varieties. They’re both 1080p, have 12-bit processing, and an 8ms response time. It sports a RJ-45 connector to connect the TV to a PC to view pictures and apparently get your email. The 42LZ196 will be $3,399 and the 47LZ196 will be $4,599. Both are available this month.
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