LATEST ADDITIONS

Music and Soundtrack Features
High Fidelity First Class
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 05, 2023
Fifty years on, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon remains one of the most important recordings of the rock era. Here’s why it will continue to endure, long after we’ve all gone on to join the great gig in the sky.
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Audio Video News
KEF Kicks Off Summer Sale with a Super Speaker Deal
SV Staff  |  Jul 03, 2023
KEF kicked off its summer sale today with a sweet deal on its award-winning compact LSX II wireless speaker system.
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Spatial Audio File
Giles Martin on Mixing The Beach Boys’ Seminal Pet Sounds in Atmos
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 30, 2023

After scoring big last year with his stellar Atmos mix of The Beatles’ seminal August 1966 album Revolver, producer Giles Martin was more recently tasked with giving the Atmos treatment to The Beach Boys’ benchmark May 1966 release, Pet Sounds. Martin got on Zoom with music editor Mike Mettler from across the Pond to discuss how he made sure his Pet Sounds Atmos mix stayed true to the music’s “real” intent, what his approach to dealing with all those infamous Beach Boys vocal stacks entailed, and how he made sure “God Only Knows” comes across as being nothing short of heavenly in its Atmos incarnation. Read on to glean all the immersive details accordingly. . .

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BLOGS/COLUMNS============
Virtual Home Cinema: Getting Beyond the Hype
SV  |  Jun 29, 2023
Have you experienced the newest VR technologies, like Apple Vision Pro or Lynx R1? These new generation VR helmets provide some pretty awesome features, the main one being the perception of the actual environment as it is, with superposition of what you want to view. You can be immersed without being disconnected from the external world...
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Vote
S&V Poll: Will VR Headsets Replace Home Theater as We Know It?
SV Staff  |  Jun 29, 2023
When Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the Vision Pro headset the company plans to bring to market early next year, he touted it as a “new kind of computer that augments reality by seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world…You can see, hear, and interact with digital content just like it’s in your physical space.” Apple hailed Vision Pro as a device that has the power to change the way we experience entertainment — one that “can transform any room into your own personal theater” with a massive virtual screen. All of which begs the question: Will virtual/augmented reality head gear replace home theater as we know it? What do you think? Cast your vote below and leave a comment to explain your choice.
S&V Poll: Will VR Headsets Replace Home Theater as We Know It?
Yes! AR/VR headsets make it possible to watch movies on a huge virtual screen no matter where you are.
11% (83 votes)
Maybe. I need to know what it’s like to watch a movie while donning a headset before passing judgement.
26% (203 votes)
No way! Wearing a clunky headset will never replace the social experience of watching a movie in a real home theater.
63% (497 votes)
Total votes: 783
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SmartStream
CNN to Stream Live News from Max App
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jun 28, 2023
After grappling with what to do with CNN following the shutdown of the CNN+ streaming services, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to add live CNN to Max later this year. CNN fans will be free to cut the cord and stream directly from the app.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
B&W Launches Signature Versions of its Iconic 800 Series Speakers
Bob Ankosko  |  Jun 28, 2023
Bowers & Wilkins today announced the latest iteration of the famous 801 speaker that became an instant audiophile classic when it was introduced in 1979, making its way into London’s fabled Abbey Road Studios a few years later.
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HDTV Buying TipsA/V Veteran
Shopping for a New TV? Here Are a Few Tips
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 27, 2023
One of the key highlights of the CES trade show held every year in early January is a preview of the coming year's new TVs. These models don’t typically become available for sale until the spring, meaning most of the TVs you see “on sale” in the three or four months following CES are actually last year's models that need to be cleared out to make room for the new ones. And some of that old stock remains available into the early summer — as in now.
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Signals
From Musicboarding to Phoneboarding
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jun 27, 2023
A few months ago, I described how a certain airline has devised a fiendish way to torment its passengers. That is, a type of torment beyond the usual run-of-the-mill torture of flying on any airplane. In a letter to the editor, alert reader Douglas Mandel commiserated with me but pointed out that I was overlooking another kind of torture that is much, much worse.
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4K TV ReviewsOLED TV ReviewsTV Reviews
Samsung OLED G9 240 Hz 49" Ultra-Wide Monitor Review
Mark Henninger  |  Jun 26, 2023

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,800

AT A GLANCE
Plus
State-of-the-art graphics
Great for gaming and productivity
Statement-making design
Packed with smart features
Factory calibrated
Minus
Pricey
Needs a powerful PC for gaming

THE VERDICT
With its combination of quantum-dot OLED display tech and a 32:9 aspect ratio, 49-inch screen Samsung's latest ultra-wide monitor is a gamer's delight while also serving as a reference-quality productivity tool.

The Samsung OLED G95SC is a genuine "world's first" with a 240 Hz 49-inch QD-OLED screen. The result is an ultra-thin profile and light weight that make it surprisingly easy to assemble and adjust despite its epic dimensions. Its $2,200 MSRP may be high but is a reflection of the cutting-edge technology found within.

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