LATEST ADDITIONS

Brent Butterworth  |  Mar 18, 2012

The name Mark Levinson is familiar even to those who couldn’t care less about audio. It’s been mentioned in numerous Lexus commercials, because Mark Levinson audio systems are an option in the higher-end models. Audio enthusiasts know Levinson as the founder of the company that still bears his name, and that 40 years later still makes some of world’s finest audio electronics, although under different ownership.

Levinson has been a prominent figure in the audio biz since 1972, but he’s been fairly low-key for the last 10 years. Now he’s coming back with what he says will be his last audio company and his last audio system. A couple of weeks ago, I got to be one of the first in the U.S. to give it a lengthy audition.

Billy Altman  |  Mar 17, 2012

I've been attending the South By Southwest music festival for many years, but I can't ever recall ever hearing the particular sound I encountered late Friday night at Stubb's: squealing. And I mean the kind of squealing that means only one thing – female hormones on the march. 

Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 16, 2012
When you buy a Blu-ray/DVD bundle these days, chances are it also comes with something called Digital Copy. This is just what the name says—a digital copy of the movie to put on your computer's hard drive or NAS (network-attached storage) so you can watch it on other authorized devices in your entertainment ecosystem, subject to the copy's DRM (digital-rights management) provisions and compatibility with various platforms.

Have you used Digital Copy with titles you've purchased? If so, do you find it to be a useful feature?

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

Have You Used Digital Copy?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 16, 2012
I've recently installed some built-in cabinets in my family room, leaving me enough space to fit a 70-inch TV. Currently, I have a 50-inch Pioneer Kuro (non-Elite) that I've been extremely happy with. But now that I've got the space for a 70-incher, I'm strongly considering upgrading. The problem is that I've been pretty disappointed with what's currently available in the way of 70-inch TVs. I realize that I'm limited to the Sharp 70-inch models or the larger Elite (which is out of my price range). I could increase my options if I considered a 65-inch set from Samsung or Panasonic, but hate the thought of giving up those extra five inches.

Also, I'm pretty spoiled by the picture quality of the Kuro. I love the shadow detail and lack of motion artifacts on the plasma, and I'm worried that I'll be disappointed with the performance of some of the larger LED TVs. I was excited that Sharp announced the LE945U line at CES this year, which is supposedly going to include full-array local dimming, but I've seen recent reports that Sharp may not include local dimming on their 2012 sets. Have you heard anything about this? Is this feature really worth waiting for over the full-array LC-70LE735U (with no local dimming) that can currently be obtained at a substantial discount?

Jim Remus

Billy Altman  |  Mar 16, 2012

"How important can this speech be if we're doing it at noon?" joked Bruce Springsteen as he began his keynote speech on Thursday at South By Southwest. "I mean, is any musician up at noon?" 

Geoffrey Morrison  |  Mar 16, 2012

I’m not sure where to begin. In a Heisenbergian fashion, I can’t describe the game without ruining the game. I can’t really say what it’s about, what goes on, or really, what my feelings are after playing it.

I can only use words like “ethereal,” “haunting,” “absorbing,” even “beautiful.”

Well, maybe I can describe how I feel about it. I think. . . I loved it.

Billy Altman  |  Mar 15, 2012

The first full day at the 2012 South By Southwest music festival was really all about the ladies, as a number of talented women from all points of the stylistic compass made their presence felt at various hot spots throughout the day and night.

Michael Berk  |  Mar 14, 2012

As our own Geoffrey Morrison pointed out earlier this week, a lot of AirPlay-enabled speakers are expensive enough that they're bound to get you thinking about building your own system around a cheaper device like an AirPort Express.

Michael Berk  |  Mar 14, 2012

The writing may be on the wall for the CD and for physical media in general; but we're still seeing interesting disc players emerge as we enter the format's end times (of course, we could be totally wrong about that; vinyl certainly hasn't gone away, and nor has innovation in the turntable arena). But simple CD-playback devices may be a thing of the past.

Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Mar 14, 2012

You’ve got to hand it to Walmart. First, they make a zillion dollars selling DVD and Blu-ray discs to everyone. Now, they’re set to make another zillion dollars so you don’t have to actually use the discs. Brilliant, simply brilliant.

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