LATEST ADDITIONS

New ProductsPremiere Design
MartinLogan Crescendo Music System
Bob Ankosko  |  Mar 05, 2014
Smile If You Like Music
Yep, you read that right. MartinLogan, the 30-year-old Kansas-based company known for elegant, high-performance electrostatic speakers, is branching out. And, no, the Crescendo is not a center-channel speaker.
Continue Reading »
3D Blu-ray Movie ReviewsBlu-ray Movie Reviews
Escape From Planet Earth
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 05, 2014
Picture
3D-ness
Sound
Extras
Interactivity
Gary Supernova is an ace coordinator at Mission Control on the planet BAAB. His specialty is keeping his lunkheaded brother Scorch, the planet’s superhero-astronaut, from getting himself killed on dangerous missions. But when the most hazardous mission of all comes up—to the Dark Planet from which no one has ever returned—Gary doesn’t want his brother to risk it. Scorch takes the assignment anyway, and Gary refuses to help. But when Scorch gets captured on the Dark Planet and imprisoned in Area 51 along with other alien life forms, Gary comes to the rescue.
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
TCL to Sell 48-inch HDTV for $449 at Sam’s Club
SV Staff  |  Mar 05, 2014
Chinese consumer electronics giant TCL (The Creative Life) yesterday introduced a 48-inch 1080p LED-backlit LCD HDTV that will be sold exclusively through Sam’s Club stores nationwide and online at SamsClub.com for $449 starting in early March. The model is the first in a 2014 lineup of TVs with screen sizes ranging from 23 to 55 inches due out later this spring.
Continue Reading »
Signals
Apple’s CarPlay Hits the Road
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Mar 04, 2014
Apple has announced that it is bringing its iOS to a dashboard near you. The CarPlay system will link your iPhone 5S, 5C or 5 to the vehicle’s in-dash controls and display. Think of the phone as the brains of the operation, and the car as the touchscreen, and speakers. With CarPlay, you’ll be able to access the phone’s maps, traffic information, music, and messages. For music streaming, CarPlay will support iHeartRadio and Spotify. Also, as you might expect, Siri will be on board.

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Can I Go Wireless with My AV Receiver?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 03, 2014
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I am moving to a new home and plan to transfer my AV receiver and speakers to the new location but don’t want to have to run new wiring. Is there a system available that will let me attach a wireless transmitter to my AV receiver and wireless receivers to my speakers and avoid running wires?—Michael DeWaters / via e-mail

Continue Reading »
Bluetooth Speaker Reviews
Natural Beauty... and Bluetooth? Grain Audio PWS is Both.
Lauren Dragan  |  Feb 28, 2014
There’s a million Bluetooth speakers on the market these days, so it takes something special to cut through the clutter. I’ve seen super tiny Bluetooth speakers,disco light show Bluetooth speakers, and inexplicably inane handbag shaped Bluetooth Speakers. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with being a little flashy to get a second glance (within reason, of course.) But sometimes it’s refreshing to get your hands on a product that’s simply well built, refined, and classic. Maybe this explains why I was so glad to get my hands on the Grain Audio PWS for testing. But would the sound back up the natural beauty?
Continue Reading »
AV Receiver Reviews
Yamaha RX-V775WA AV Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 27, 2014

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $850

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Wi-Fi adapter supplied
AirPlay built in
iOS-USB and MHL-HDMI
Minus
Bluetooth adapter is optional

THE VERDICT
Great sound and no-extra-charge Wi-Fi functionality for well under a thousand bucks.

“There may be said to be two classes of people in the world; those who constantly divide the people of the world into two classes, and those who do not.” Robert Benchley’s Law of Distinction might also apply to audio/video receivers as they vie for the attention of two warring tribes, the Apple tribe and the anything-but-Apple tribe. For Apple loyalists, the Yamaha RX-V775WA offers AirPlay wireless connectivity, a front-panel USB jack into which you can plug any recent iOS device, and an iOS-speaking control app.

Continue Reading »
Ask S&V
Why Do I See Motion Blur on My Plasma TV?
Al Griffin  |  Feb 27, 2014
Q I thought that plasma TVs don’t suffer from motion blur, but I definitely see it when watching with my new Panasonic TC-P60ST60 plasma. Is there some setting I have configured incorrectly, or was I wrong in thinking that plasma tech is free from motion blur? —Bob Shedlock / Strongsville, Ohio
Continue Reading »
SmartStream
Simplifying the Netflix-Comcast Deal: Net Neutrality Killer or Paying Their Fair Share?
Barb Gonzalez  |  Feb 27, 2014
Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast for direct access to their Internet service delivery. Why they did it and what it means to the future of net neutrality.
Continue Reading »
The S&V Interview
Steven Wilson, Once and Future Surround King
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 26, 2014
Over in Reference Tracks, Steven Wilson, the one true king of transformative surround-sound mixing (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, XTC), and I discuss the building blocks of how he transformed Yes’ groundbreaking 1972 LP, Close to the Edge, into a benchmark 192/24 5.1 mix. It’s as pure and true as you’ll ever hear it on Panegyric’s Definitive Edition Blu-ray/CD combo package. “It’s a bona-fide A-level masterpiece,” Wilson says of CTTE. (The Preacher, The Teacher hath spoken!) Further good news: The venerable surround master has also confirmed more 5.1 Yes album mixes are on the way. All I can say about them at this point is at least one of them was originally released before CTTE, and at least one was released after it.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X