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Headphone Reviews
Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series 2 Headphone Review
Steve Guttenberg  |  Apr 08, 2015

Performance
Features
Comfort
Value
PRICE $180

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Bright and clear sound
All-new 9.2mm drivers
Bowers & Wilkins design flair
Minus
The C5 S2’s cable may rub against your ears

THE VERDICT
Bowers & Wilkins’ engineers revised and tweaked C5 Series 2 in-ear headphone sounds better than ever.

I doubt the original Bowers & Wilkins C5 that debuted in 2011 was ever confused for any other headphone. I loved its sharply angled, cylindrical aluminum earpieces and looped cables: They marked the C5 as a true original. The new C5 Series 2 doesn’t look much different. The biggest change is one you can’t see: The 9.2mm drivers are all new. The headphones’ silicone ear tips now provide a snugger fit, and the old silver/gray cable has been replaced with a black one. The new inline mic/remote has a better tactile feel. You can take calls on Androids and iPhones, but the remote only works with iPhones. Bowers & Wilkins’ headphone carry cases are classier than most, and the suede-like one that comes with the C5 S2 looks sharp.

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The Connected Life
Time to Buy Star Wars…Again?
John Sciacca  |  Apr 08, 2015
You’ve likely heard that Star Wars will be re-released in a digital movie collection on Friday (April 10th), finally allowing people to legally own and enjoy all six of the films (or at least enjoy four of them, tolerate Episode II and just agree to disagree on most of the filmmaking decisions from Episode I ) on a host of devices wherever they are.

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A/V Veteran
Samsung's Age of Ultra
Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 07, 2015
Last week Samsung held a launch party for its new SUHD Ultra HDTVs (forgive the redundancy!) in New York City. They kindly flew me from my new digs in northwest Florida to attend. New York based S&&V Editor Rob Sabin was there also, along with most of the consumer electronics press.

Two of the new Samsung SUHD LCD sets are the first consumer sets to support the new high dynamic range (HDR) technology that, along with a wider color gamut, a deeper color bit depth, and (of course) 4K resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) are all central to a complete picture of what Ultra HD is all about...

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Signals
Shack Attack: The Future of Radio Shack as We Know it Looks Bleak
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 07, 2015
It's 8 p.m. on a Saturday night. For reasons that really aren't worth explaining, you need to connect from a micro-USB port to a mini-USB cable. But where are you going to find a male-micro-USB-to-female-mini-USB cable? Of course, you head to Radio Shack. The kid there will sell you one. But, going forward, will a New York hedge fund sell one?

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Grace Notes
We Failed the Marshmallow Test
Leslie Shapiro  |  Apr 06, 2015
In the late 1960’s and early ‘70’s, psychologist Walter Mischel conducted a series of tests at Stanford University. The basic premise put a 4-year-old preschool child in a room with an adult, and two marshmallows. The adult explains that he has to leave the room for about 15 minutes. The child can eat one marshmallow while the adult is gone, but if the child waits until the adult returns, the child can eat both marshmallows. While the basic test is interesting enough, it’s the follow-up that proved most intriguing. The children who showed the most self-control/self-discipline by waiting until the adult returned grew up to have significantly higher SAT scores, lower BMIs, more self-control and self-discipline, and in general, were more successful in life. As music lovers, we failed the marshmallow test.
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Tech2
Tidal Bellyflops Into a Flooded Music Market
Lauren Dragan  |  Apr 02, 2015
Earlier this week, a bevy of music superstars all stood on a stage to announce the re-launch of yet another music streaming service. This one is called TIDAL. Who was there? Madonna, Jay Z, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, DeadMaus, Kanye, Chris Martin, Alicia Keys, Daft Punk, Arcade Fire, Jack White, and more. You know… millionaires. Millionaires who want to convince you to pay $10-$20 a month for music. Are you rolling your eyes? You’re not alone.
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Custom Installation How-To
Atmos Makeover: A Space Odyssey, Part 2
David Vaughn  |  Apr 02, 2015
In Part 1 of my Atmos upgrade diary, I wrote about my unconventional home theater space with its vaulted ceiling and open floor plan, and how I eventually decided to lower the ceiling and install built-in speakers to achieve my Atmos dreams. Here, in Part 2, I’ll describe how I went about rebuilding my system for Atmos and talk about my first listening tests.
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SmartStream
Jay Z Relaunches Tidal with a Parade of Celebrity Artists
Barb Gonzalez  |  Apr 01, 2015
Jay Z relaunched the newly purchased Tidal hi-fi music streaming service with hopes that it will change the way artists are paid. Check out the details and the star-studded video of the Tidal press conference from March 30.
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Soundbar Reviews
Lirpa Labs MZ1-949r Soundbar Review
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Apr 01, 2015
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,019

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Line array is audio perfection
Perfect bass
Incredible smart-home features
Minus
Design is a little common
Adds red tint to images

THE VERDICT
The Lirpa Labs MZ1-949r soundbar offers a new level of features and sound that everyone will love.

A few years ago, we reviewed the Lirpa Labs 1776, a speaker unlike any other, and a true statement in the audio world. Sadly, despite critical acclaim—it was widely considered to be the best speaker of all time—the 1776 was a commercial failure. Lirpa Labs held on briefly, with some, shall we say, “eccentric” headphones, but the company was nearly bankrupt. An ill-advised and poorly implemented app was a step too far.

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Audio Video News
RIP, Apple Clickwheel
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 31, 2015
Students of the user interface are in mourning for Apple’s clickwheel, which passed away quietly in Cupertino, California, at the age of 13.
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