LATEST ADDITIONS

Tech2
ACS ER-25 Custom Earplugs
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jul 18, 2011

Ever left a concert with your ears ringing? How about after mowing the lawn? Working in the shop? Listening to your in-laws?

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Track One
McCartney Carries That Weight
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 16, 2011

“By the way, who is this Derek Jeter guy?” asked Sir Paul McCartney of the full crowd at Yankee Stadium on July 15, four songs deep into the opening night of his Summer 2011 On the Run tour. “Somebody said he has more hits than me.”

Hmm, not bloody likely.

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Track One
Welcome to the Site Machine 2.0!
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 15, 2011

It may only be the middle of July, but it already feels like Christmastime ’round the hallowed S+V office halls. How come? Well, the evidence is right there before your eyes — to wit: the all-new, all-awesome Sound + Vision Web site!

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Track One
Gomez Grooves Greatly
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 15, 2011

We didn’t know it until about an hour or so before showtime, but we wound up seeing Gomez’s last North American summer tour date last night at Terminal 5 in NYC.

The reason, as noted here: key bandmember Ben Ottewell — a thirtysomething British lad with the singing voice of a 75-year-old bluesman — was ordered by doctors to rest his voice for no less than 2 weeks.

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Vote
What Will You Do in Response to Netflix's Rate Hike?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 15, 2011
As you probably know by now, Netflix just announced a change in its rates for online streaming and physical discs by mail. Instead of charging one monthly fee for as many of both as you want (one disc at a time), you must now pay a separate fee for each medium—$8/month for streaming and another $8/month for DVDs by mail or $10/month for Blu-rays, a 60-percent increase for both services together.

In his excellent blog on the subject, Home Theater editor Rob Sabin points out that Netflix's streaming library is missing lots of current, desirable titles, and the A/V quality of its streaming content cannot match that of Blu-ray. For now, he recommends sticking with Blu-ray rentals and waiting for the streaming library and quality to catch up.

What do you plan to do in response to the Netflix rate hike? If you're already a Netflix subscriber, will you keep both options or dump one or the other—or both? If you're not yet a subscriber, does this development encourage you to choose one or both, or will you stay away?

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

What Will You Do in Response to Netflix's Rate Hike?
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Review: Rango
Rad Bennett  |  Jul 15, 2011

The first animated movie by Pirates of the Caribbean auteur Gore Verbinski, Rango isn’t your average cartoon. Above all else, it’s a western, having so many references, tributes, and in-jokes about the old American frontier that you expect Frankie Laine to come in on the soundtrack, singing his theme song from Tim Conway’s 1967 sitcom of the same name.

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Ask S&V
DIY Calibration
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 15, 2011
I bought the Spyder3TV calibration system a few years ago but never used in on my former 50-inch plasma. I now have a Panasonic TC-P54G25 plasma, and I love it, but I haven't calibrated it yet. Is the Spyder3TV any good, or is there a better one? Also, is it even necessary to calibrate it?

Doug Pennell

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Rango (Blu-ray)
David Vaughn  |  Jul 15, 2011
It's the classic fish out of water tale of Rango, a family pet lost in the desert who must learn to survive on his own in the desolate environment. The hapless chameleon travels to the dusty town of Dirt, where water is in short supply and the townsfolk are desperate for a hero. The aspiring thespian puts on the show of his life until the local thugs show up to make trouble he soon realizes he's in over his head.

Although the first act seems to drag on forever, the story picks up steam in the second and builds up to a thrilling and satisfying conclusion. Johnny Depp voices the main character, but it's the absolutely incredible animation that steals the show and ILM deserves massive kudos for delivering the best looking presentation I've seen on Blu-ray. Yes folks, it's that good.

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Ask S&V
NAD and GoldenEar
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 15, 2011
I am really new to A/V but quickly becoming addicted! What are your thoughts about NAD? I have a moderate budget and expensive tastes, so I was considering the NAD T 785 A/V receiver and the GoldenEar TritonCinema Two speaker system. I have read great things about GoldenEar, and I like the sound of these speakers. I don't see as much press on NAD, but they come highly recommended from the staff at Listen Up Denver.

Chris Ferguson

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Blu-ray Review: Insidious
Marc Horowitz  |  Jul 15, 2011

Led Zeppelin epitomized testosterone-fueled rock & roll — heavy metal at its finest. But that didn’t mean the band couldn’t go mellow once in a while (as in “Going to California”). 

It’s like that in the horror world, too.

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