LATEST ADDITIONS

Home Movie Theaters
The Social Theater
Kim Wilson  |  Jul 30, 2014
Photos Olson Photography

New construction has its advantages, especially when building a home theater. Since Innerspace Electronics of Port Chester, New York, was brought in on this project early in the construction, they could ensure that this theater was designed adequately for best picture and sound.

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AV Receiver Reviews
Anthem MRX 710 AV Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 29, 2014

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Advanced build quality
Subtle room correction
Crisp, dynamic sound
Minus
No wireless anything
A tad analytical

THE VERDICT
The top model among Anthem’s second-generation receivers omits needless features and splurges on performance.

“From Canada with love,” says weatherman Mr. G of WPIX New York every time a sinister polar vortex is about to sweep down from the frozen north. That cool Canadian breeze can be a trial in winter. In summer, however, it’s a breath of fresh air—and that’s also a good description of AV receivers from Ontario-based Anthem. They’re built like tanks, obsessively performance-oriented, and shorn of (what some might deem) frivolous features.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Her
Anthony Chiarella  |  Jul 29, 2014
Picture
Sound
Extras
One of our most visionary filmmakers, Spike Jonze delights in showing us the unexpected. In Her, his most daring script to date (he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar), Jonze imagines a future in which romantic relationships no longer require two humans. Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a writer of other peoples’ love letters, acquires a cutting-edge operating system. Possessed of artificial intelligence, his OS assumes the female persona “Samantha” (Scarlett Johansson), with whom Theodore falls in love. Phoenix is brilliant in what amounts to a one-man show, delivering a richly detailed character study of the dark, introverted geek. In many ways, Johansson has the more difficult task, portraying a new and constantly evolving being, who, lacking physical substance, must define herself through words alone.
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The Connected Life
How to Avoid AV Information Overload
John Sciacca  |  Jul 29, 2014
One of the most disappointing things I face is spending time going over different options for someone’s new home’s entertainment and automation system and having them leave my showroom saying, “Wow! Now I’m even more confused than when I started!” (More disappointing is the, “Oh, I wish I’d come to you to do my system!” regret that comes when they can’t get the other guy/company to come back to finish or service the system.)
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Audio Video News
Klipsch Adds First Soundbar to Reference Speaker Series
SV Staff  |  Jul 28, 2014
Klipsch has added the R-10B soundbar to its Reference Series of speakers, marking the first time a soundbar has been offered under the company’s Reference moniker.

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Grace NotesAudio Video News
Bose Lawsuit Aims to Take a Bite Out of Apple’s Beats
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jul 28, 2014
Bose, the pioneer of noise-cancelling headphones, has filed suit against Apple’s latest and largest acquisition, Beats Electronics. Bose alleges that the Beats Studio and Studio Wireless headphones use noise-cancelling technology that infringes on five patents held by Bose. They have also filed with the International Trade Commission requesting a cease-and-desist on sales and imports of Beats in the US. They are requesting an undisclosed amount of compensation for damages. Considering how long the Studio line has been available, did Bose wait until it could go after the deeper pockets of Apple?

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SmartStream
Qplay Calls it Quits
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jul 25, 2014  |  First Published: Jul 23, 2014
The Qplay app and adapter will cease to function after July 25, 2014. Was Qplay a bad idea?
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Tech2
Star Citizen Alpha/Early Thoughts
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jul 25, 2014
If you haven’t heard about Star Citizen, you must have been living under a rock. Or don’t care about video games. Or don’t care about video games and have been living under a rock. Enjoy your rock cave.

From Chris Roberts, the brilliant game designer and lets-not-mention-that-directorial-debut, Star Citizen is what every fan of Privateer, Wing Commander, Space Rogue, and every other space sim have always wanted.

At least, that’s the promise.

Now, I and other backers (damn right I have them my dollars), have had a chance to try out an early alpha snipped of the game: space combat.

I have thoughts.

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Audio Video News
Poll: 5.1 Rules in the World of Surround Sound
SV Staff  |  Jul 25, 2014
With Dolby Atmos looming on the horizon we asked how Sound & Vision readers do surround and learned that nine out of 10 of those who responded have either a 5.1/5.2 (59%) or 7.1/7.2 (30%) setup. The complete breakdown is below.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Yamaha RX-V377 AV Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 25, 2014  |  First Published: Jul 24, 2014
Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price $300

At A Glance
Plus
Five amp channels
Virtual Cinema Front
Darkish tonal balance
Minus
Bargain-basement speaker terminals
No wireless or network audio features

The Verdict
The Yamaha RX-V377 is an accessibly priced entry-level receiver with most of the essential features and mercifully dark-toned voicing.

If you think surround sound is just for the well-to-do, think again. The Top Picks page on this site is loaded with compact 5.1-channel speaker systems, starting at $520 for a setup based on the Pioneer SP-BS522 monitors, designed by loudspeaker guru Andrew Jones. Cheap Blu-ray players abound, these days. All you’d need to do is add another $300 for something like the Yamaha RX-V377 receiver, reviewed here, and your starter system weighs in at under a grand (and those are list prices).

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