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Max Richter's Sleep: Not Meant to be Enjoyed While Awake
Lauren Dragan  |  Sep 04, 2015
Sleep. On average, we spend a third of our day asleep. It’s a large portion of our lives, and one that British composer Max Richter wants to consider. In addition to several albums, Richter has composed for movies, television, and now for an audience that is (he hopes, anyway) asleep. Richter’s most recent project, the recording of which is available today, is eight hours long, and composed specifically for a listener who is in a somnambulant state. And later this month, Sleep will become the longest single continuous piece of music ever broadcast live on the BBC.
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Ears On
What's in a Misnomer? A Look at a Few CE Classics
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 04, 2015
What's in a name? At times, not a whole lot of sense. The consumer electronics industry has a genius for giving dopey names to things: unintentionally misleading names, deliberately misleading names, duplicative names, redundant names, outright laughable names. Here are just a few:

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Audio Video News
Poll Recap: Disc-Based Viewing Key for Half of Respondents
SV Staff  |  Sep 04, 2015
Earlier this week we asked how much of your home entertainment viewing is disc-based as opposed to streaming from a subscription service such as Netflix, buying/renting digital content online, or video on demand via cable or satellite. Turns out that discs play an important role for about half of survey respondents...
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Audio Video News
LG 4K OLED TVs Now Support HDR Streaming
SV Staff  |  Sep 04, 2015
Owners of LG’s EG9600 and EF9500 series 4K OLED televisions will be able to stream high dynamic range (HDR)-encoded content via the Amazon Video app available through LG’s webOS Smart TV platform
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Def Tech Announces Super Slim Soundbar
SV Staff  |  Sep 04, 2015
Definitive Technology has taken a minimalist approach in the design of its new W Studio Micro soundbar/wireless streaming system, which squeezes seven drivers into an enclosure that’s 43 inches wide and only 1.75 inches tall.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Sony STR-DN1060 A/V Receiver Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 03, 2015

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $600

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth
MHL on front and rear
Google Cast, Spotify Connect
Minus
Confusing A.F.D., HD-D.C.S. terminology

THE VERDICT
If you can do without Dolby Atmos in this seven-channel AVR, Sony’s well-thought-out wireless functionality and sweet, golden sound are an unbeatable combination.

Let me say this up front: The Sony STR-DN1060 doesn’t do Dolby Atmos. Whether this is a serious omission in a seven-channel receiver today is debatable—but I’d say not. Most of the first-generation Atmos receivers have shortcomings of their own. For one thing, they lack the forthcoming DTS:X, the other flavor of object-oriented, height-enabled surround sound. More critically, seven-channel models can offer only Atmos 5.1.2, with two height channels in front or directly above the listener but none in back. That is at best a limited version of the Atmos experience because it doesn’t create the full dome-shaped soundfield of 5.1.4.

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Audio Video News
Samsung Announces Ultra HD Blu-ray Player at IFA
SV Staff  |  Sep 03, 2015
Samsung announced at the IFA 2015 consumer electronics show in Berlin that it will launch a 4K/Ultra HD Blu-ray player early next year at a price of less than $500, according to press reports.
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Audio Video News
CBS to Live Stream Regular Season NFL Games for First Time
SV Staff  |  Sep 03, 2015
CBS Sports announced plans to stream NFL games in October and November, marking the first time regular season games will be streamed live.
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Audio Video News
Kuro, Redux? Panasonic Launches “4K Pro” OLED TV at European Show
SV Staff  |  Sep 03, 2015
Panasonic may have a follow-up to the legendary Kuro plasma TV technology that it acquired from Pioneer in 2009. The company introduced a 65-inch “4K Pro” OLED TV at the IFA 2015 consumer electronics show in Berlin said to deliver its most accurate picture quality ever.
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Ask S&V
Why Do AV Receivers Lack Phono Preamps?
Al Griffin  |  Sep 03, 2015
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I’ve noticed that almost every low/mid-priced (under $700) AVR that Sound&Vision has reviewed recently lacks a phono input. With the recent resurgence of LPs, it’s annoying to think that one would have to spend more money to hook up an external phono preamp when in the old days every receiver had one.

I know that HDMI and wireless inputs are all the rage, but don’t want to spend $500 on a receiver plus another $50-150 for a phono preamp, just to listen to my LPs. Are there any reasonably priced AVRs available that have a built-in phono preamp, or should I bite the bullet and buy an external phono preamp for my current receiver? If the answer is the latter, could you suggest a good model for under $100? —Tim Marlow

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