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Music Reviews
Remaster Class: The Who: Quadrophenia
Mike Mettler  |  May 21, 2021
The Who had pioneered—and seemingly perfected—the art of the rock opera with May 1969's all-seeing Tommy, but the ever-provocative British quartet's chief visionary Pete Townshend wasn't done with his honing of the overarching story-arc concept just yet. October 1973's magnum opus Quadrophenia—the 81-minute, 17-song cycle chronicling angst-driven youth-culture clashes and a yearning to break free from a preordained societal rut—reinforced how guitarist/ vocalist Townshend was a musical architect of the highest order.
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Home Movie Theaters
AV Industry Makes a Home Theater Wish Come True
Bob Ankosko  |  May 20, 2021
All photos courtesy of Make-A-Wish’s Mary Holguin and Screen Innovations’ Jason Russell (projection screen, AV rack, Cinema Now Showing sign).

ProSource was busy making plans for a fundraising event to support the Make-a-Wish Foundation (MaW) last year when the pandemic struck. The buying group, which represents hundreds of A/V specialty retailers and custom integrators around the country, was hoping to top the $110,000 it raised in 2019 but was forced to regroup. Then they received a fortuitous call: MaW’s Central and South Texas Chapter wanted to know if ProSource would be interested in making a donation to help make an 8-year-old’s wish come true. Turns out, Miles, who had been diagnosed with a semi-rare liver disorder known as portal vein thrombosis, thought it would be cool to have a home theater.

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Subwoofer Reviews
SVS SB-1000 Pro and PB-1000 Pro Subwoofers Review
David Vaughn  |  May 19, 2021

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE SB-1000 Pro: $499.99 (Black Ash), $599.99 (Piano Gloss Black/White); PB-1000 Pro: $599.99 (Black Ash)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
ig, deep bass from a small box
Best-in-class control app
45-day in-home trial period
Minus
No auto-calibration/room correction
Best suited for smaller rooms

THE VERDICT
SVS outdoes itself again by offering a pair of budget-friendly subwoofers controlled by the company’s best-in-class app.

Innovative technologies tend to debut in more expensive goods so that companies can recoup their research and development costs. Take Mercedes, for example. When new tech gets introduced, the company does not debut it in its A or C class of cars, but instead reserves it for its S class to entice buyers to "trade up" to the more expensive—and likely more profitable—model.

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A/V Veteran
Inflation Now! Will A/V Prices Increase?
Thomas J. Norton  |  May 18, 2021
In case you haven't noticed, prices in the consumer world are creeping up. It's not yet a tsunami, but the signs are there. This should be a concern for everyone, and audio- and videophiles won't be immune from it. Some of the rising costs are due to unexpected events, such as the hacking of an oil pipeline, which might settle back in time. Others are due to government monetary policies, for better or worse in the unsettled time of Covid-19. Inflation is always produced when too much money chases too few goods. And there's no money tree in the back room of the Capitol in Washington. We're borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, but Peter can't object; he's just a printing press. The typical payback is inflation, a hidden tax on everyone.

Economics is a boring, black art, but it could inevitably affect our own little A/V corner of the wider world...

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Audio Video News
Apple Music Adds Atmos, Lossless Audio in Sound Quality Makeover
Bob Ankosko  |  May 17, 2021
Apple today announced a sound quality makeover for its subscription-based Apple Music streaming service that expands its Spatial Audio surround-sound platform with support for Dolby Atmos and brings lossless audio to its music catalog.
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Signals
OK, Boomer, Listen Up
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  May 17, 2021
As the saying goes, it sucks to grow old, but the alternative is much worse. And as we grow old, our hearing acuity declines. Ergo, we have hearing aids. But that product category is about to undergo rapid change, thanks to Bose and other audio companies.

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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Soul
Chris Chiarella  |  May 14, 2021
Picture
Sound
Extras
Pixar O.G. and now Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter touched our hearts with Up, then plumbed the intricacies of the human mind in Inside Out. It would follow, then, that his next movie would be Soul.

Together, these are arguably the most grown-up entries in the Pixar canon, not for any sort of overly mature content, but rather for their sophisticated themes and storytelling. And Soul might be the most adult-skewing: It's the longest of the three, exploring The Great Hereafter and even "The Great Before," namely where souls originate prior to their arrival on Earth. This concept requires quite a bit of exposition, and it's executed masterfully by Docter, co-writer/co-director Kemp Powers, and co-writer Mike Jones, through bold visuals and pithy gags.

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The S&V Interview
CEDIA’s Walt Zerbe on the Importance of A/V Standards
Bob Ankosko  |  May 13, 2021
Since CEDIA sold the rights to the annual CEDIA Expo trade show a few years ago, the organization has been busy honing and expanding the world-class educational programs it produces for professional integrators who design and install A/V entertainment and smart-home systems. The Indiana-based association also plays a key role in developing industry standards with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). We recently caught up with Walt Zerbe, CEDIA’s senior director of technology and standards, to learn why industry standards and recommended practices are important and what they mean for enthusiasts.
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SmartStream
Roku Channel Adds Shows, Removes YouTube TV
Barb Gonzalez  |  May 13, 2021
Roku officially announces the addition of live TV channels and Roku Originals while in the middle of a feud with Google that has resulted in the YouTube TV channel being removed. Here are the details.
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Bookshelf Speaker ReviewsDesktop Speaker ReviewsWireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
KEF LS50 Wireless II Powered Speakers Review
Daniel Kumin  |  May 12, 2021

Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,500 (pair)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Serious all-in-one streaming solution
Remarkable tonal and dynamic range
Excellent ergonomics and app
Roon Ready Certified
Minus
High volume level slightly reduces resolution

THE VERDICT
KEF's wireless speaker package is an ergonomic marvel that delivers true audiophile performance—especially when paired with the company's complementary KC62 subwoofer.

We live now in wireless world, and the major loudspeaker makers have been quick to embrace it with serious-performance, near-full-range designs. But each seems to have a different idea of what a "wireless speaker" should entail. Some simply connect to an existing component stack via a supplied small wireless transmitter. Others incorporate the whole smart-speaker thang, with full multiroom audio system and Alexa-Google-Siri voice control integration.

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