LATEST ADDITIONS

Ears On
Closer to Music
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 05, 2015
I have been lucky enough to spend nearly all of my career explaining audio and video technology to readers. I'm just as lucky to have made Sound & Vision and its predecessor Home Theater my roost since 2001. But in a previous phase of my career, I divided my time between specialist publications like this one and other kinds: music and pop culture magazines, men's and women's and travel magazines and newspapers and more. It was while writing a story for Details that I racked my brain for a way to assert the relevance of audio technology to a young, hip, music-loving audience (not unlike myself at the time). Finally I stumbled upon the key that unlocked it all: the phrase closer to music. I've been using that phrase and its cousin—your relationship with music—ever since.

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Ask S&V
Can I Build a Dolby Atmos Theater Using All In-Ceiling Speakers?
Al Griffin  |  Jun 04, 2015
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I am new to the world of home theater, but I’m building a house soon and want to plan for the possibility of a home theater setup. I like the idea of having in-ceiling speakers running the surround sound. Is it possible to set up a Dolby Atmos system that exclusively uses in-ceiling speakers?—Jonathan Huizingh / via e-mail

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The Connected Life
Wi-Fi Pineapple: A Rotten Piece of Fruit
John Sciacca  |  Jun 03, 2015
While doing some research for an upcoming Connected Life column on Wi-Fi security practices, I stumbled across a practically rotten piece of “fruit” called the Wi-Fi Pineapple. And while the company that makes this, Hak5, says that it serves “penetration testers, law enforcement, military and government” the sub $100 device is available to anyone and is designed to “enable users to quickly and easily deploy advanced attacks.” With the Pineapple performing hotspot honeypot, man-in-the-middle attacks, a hacker could quickly and easily have access to all of the data and information from your browsing sessions. If you frequently connect to Wi-Fi hotspots when you’re out and about, here are some things you need to know about the Pineapple in order to better safeguard yourself.
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Home Movie Theaters
The Sky’s the Limit: High-End DIY Theater Rises Above Panama City
Kim Wilson  |  Jun 02, 2015
Located in a 10,000-square-foot apartment that comprises the entire 52nd floor of The Point condominiums in Panama City, Panama, this 26 x 16 x 10-foot home theater adheres to the recommended proportions for well-balanced acoustics and good sound distribution.
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Custom Installation Equipment Reviews
Niles Auriel MRC-6430 Multiroom Audio Controller Review
John Sciacca  |  Jun 02, 2015

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $4,070 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Incredibly simple setup
Terrific home theater integration
Easily handles both analog and IP sources
Minus
No native sources
Typical Class D sound quality

THE VERDICT
Auriel is a breeze to set up, provides control over legacy and modern sources, and offers home theater integration along with a variety of easy-to-use interfaces.

Housewide audio distribution systems varied little in their design and feature set for many years. Whether they were from Niles, Elan, SpeakerCraft, NuVo, or Russound, you could essentially count on them offering six analog audio source inputs, onboard amplification for six stereo zones, and connections for a variety of controllers, usually including an in-wall keypad.

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A/V Veteran
Dolby Cinema Part Deux
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 02, 2015
A couple of blogs back I addressed the subject of Dolby Cinema, a combination of technologies, both audio and video, being promoted by Dolby as a dramatic improvement in theatrical presentations. They’re right. It most certainly is.

But first a little background. I stated in that other blog that Dolby Vision (which promotes a wider color gamut and high dynamic range, or HDR) was primarily developed for flat screen sets, which can produce greater brightness (practically speaking, up to around 300 foot-lamberts in an affordable consumer display—though Dolby’s pro display can do much better at considerable cost). For commercial film presentations, Christie Digital has developed, in cooperation with Dolby, a new, laser-lit projector capable of 30 ft-L (in 2D and, of course, depending on screen size and gain).

If that doesn’t sound like a patch on 300 ft-L, keep in mind that most theatrical projectors are lucky to hit 15-16 ft-L (again in 2D, and far lower in 3D)...

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Remotely Possible
New Apple HomeKit-enabled Caseta Wireless Smart Bridge from Lutron
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jun 02, 2015
Get ready for the onslaught of Apple HomeKit support announcements. Lutron Electronics announced today that the company’s new 2nd generation Caseta Wireless Smart Bridge DIY home lighting automation hub now supports Apple’s HomeKit. The new Lutron Smart Bridge (L-BDG2-WH) is available now in Apple stores and from numerous other retailers
 and online stores as part of the Caseta Wireless Lighting Starter Kit for $229.95.

At the moment, the most significant advantage of the Caseta Wireless Smart Bridge’s support for Apple HomeKit is...

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Streaming Device ReviewsGrace Notes
JBL Horizon: Waking Up Ain’t Hard to Do
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jun 01, 2015
While I like to think that every single product in my home should be beyond audiophile quality, the reality is that in some places, I want a product that sounds okay but more importantly, does its job very well. Sure, I could set up the most amazing home theater to use as an alarm clock, but the reality is that I just need a really good alarm clock at my bedside. Thankfully, the JBL Horizon Bluetooth clock radio just showed up at my house. I’m not saying that I’m a gear snob, but I would much rather wake up to a JBL logo than a Timex logo. Just sayin’.

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Audio Video News
GoldenEar Introduces High-Performance Center Speaker
SV Staff  |  May 31, 2015
Responding to demand for “larger, more powerful center-channel loudspeakers,” GoldenEar Technology has introduced the SuperCenter XXL, it’s most ambitious model to date.
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Audio Video News
HiFiMan Leverages Nanotechnology in New Headphone
SV Staff  |  May 31, 2015
HiFiMan founder Dr. Fang Bian says he leveraged his background in nanotechnology to develop a low-mass diaphragm that’s less than 0.001mm thick for the company’s new flagship planar-magnetic headphone, the HE1000, which will sell for $2,999 when it begins shipping this month.
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