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AV Receiver Reviews
Denon AVR-X4200W A/V Receiver Review
Daniel Kumin  |  Sep 29, 2016

Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Very solid amplifier performance
DTS:X, Dolby Atmos on board with seven-channel power and nine-channel processing
Good streaming-audio client performance and ergonomics
Minus
Ho-hum remote
Firmware/feature upgrade process is clumsy

THE VERDICT
Denon’s latest-generation upper-echelon AVR does all of the most current modes, sources, and processings very competently indeed, with ample audio power and fully up-to-date video abilities.

Full disclosure: Denon holds a special place in my hi-fi heart, because the brand’s former parent company, Nippon Columbia, brought me to Japan for my first time, on a sort of mini–press junket cooked up by the firm’s U.S. marketing guru. When I say mini, I mean it: It was just myself; Ken, the marketing guy; colleague Ken Pohlmann; and the late consumer electronics editor Bill Wolfe, whom I already knew well through long associations at titles like Video, Car Stereo Review, and (Plain Ol’) Stereo Review (S&V’s precursor).

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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 2001: A 32-Inch HDTV
SV Staff  |  Sep 29, 2016
My how times have changed. Fifteen years ago in the September 2001 issue we reviewed Samsung’s Tantus 32-inch HDTV Monitor. It was the early days of high-def and, yes, those clunky vacuum tube TVs that dominated TV for half a century were still around.
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Audio Video News
DTS Play-Fi: It’s All About that Voice
SV Staff  |  Sep 29, 2016
DTS announced yesterday it’s working with Amazon to bring the Alexa Voice Service to its Play-Fi whole-home wireless audio ecosystem, which is now supported by 16 audio brands speakers.
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Ask S&V
Which of My Devices Should I Use for Streaming?
Al Griffin  |  Sep 28, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I own a Marantz NR1606 Dolby Atmos/DTS:X-enabled AV receiver, a Roku 4 streamer, a Samsung Ultra HD Blu-ray player, and a Samsung JS8500 Ultra HDTV. Which of these devices will deliver the best audio and video performance for streaming? —Richard Wahlstrom

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Music Reviews
U2: iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE - Live in Paris
Mike Mettler  |  Sep 28, 2016
Performance
Sound
These days, even the most seasoned recording artists find it difficult to gain traction with their new material. Case in point: U2, whose deeply personal 2014 release Songs of Innocence fell by the wayside with the listening public, likely due in large part to the instant backlash the band faced when the album suddenly appeared as an automatic download in everyone’s personal iTunes library without warning that September. Much collective online hand-wringing occurred until Apple acquiesced and shared instructions for how people could permanently remove the “offending” files. (Why getting any type of new music legitimately for free was such a problem for consumers used to downloading songs without paying for them continues to mystify me, but that’s another story for another time.)
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Premiere Design
Remaking a Classic: The B&W 800 D3 Speaker
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 28, 2016
My first encounter with B&W’s coveted 800 Series speakers is ingrained in my memory. It was the summer of 1981 and a musician friend invited me over to see and hear his newly acquired pair of 801s. As I entered the rehearsal space in his finished basement, I remember thinking how unusual they looked compared with my boxy Fishers. Minutes later I was sinking into a cushy chair at the apex of a triangle formed with the speakers, listening to the White album feeling that I had somehow been transported into the studio during the making of a great album. The sound was authentic. I felt closer to the music—music that was very special to me. Today, more than three decades after John Bowers proudly unveiled the original 801 in 1979, B&W has reinvented its flagship under the aegis of Martial Rousseau, head of research. Here Rousseau shares the story behind the remaking an iconic speaker.
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Apptitude
Watching Your DVR from Anywhere
Michael Antonoff  |  Sep 28, 2016
With time- and place-shifting now entitlements of our on-demand culture, it’s no surprise that cable companies have been countering cord-cutters by extending the viewing rights of subscribers to their phones and tablets.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Oppo Unveils Updated HA-2SE Amp/DAC
SV Staff  |  Sep 28, 2016
Oppo has boosted the performance of its Top Pick winning HA-2 headphone amp/DAC in the HA-2SE, which features an upgraded digital-to-analog converter (DAC) chip.
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Home Movie Theaters
Game Day: Nine Screens Later, the Ultimate Sports Oasis Is Born
Rob Sabin  |  Sep 27, 2016
Nestled among the rolling estates of northcentral New Jersey is a recently completed 22,000-square-foot mansion on 11 acres that represents the height of luxury. Among the usual features associated with such homes—the large and well-appointed kitchen with industrial-grade appliances, the sprawling master suite with grand bath and giant hisand-hers walk-in closets, the fully equipped gym area, the climate-controlled wine cellar, the multi-bay garage complex stocked with one or more exotic cars, the attached pool and cabana, and, of course, the dedicated home theater—is the extraordinary media/entertainment space you see here. Dubbed the Sports Room by the homeowner, it’s one of the still rare examples of a commercial video wall used in a residential application, and it is indeed the ultimate game day oasis.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Roku Launches 5 New Streaming Players
SV Staff  |  Sep 27, 2016
Roku yesterday introduced five new streaming media players, the biggest product launch in the company’s history, and said more than 100 channels are now available through its search feature.
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