LATEST ADDITIONS

Sweepstakes
The Meze 99 Classics Headphones Sweepstakes
SV Staff  |  Jun 14, 2016
Register to win a pair of Meze 99 Classics Headphones ($309.00 Retail Value) we are giving away.

According to the company:

"What is it that discards the superfluous, the gimmicky, the flashy, the questionable, the overly fragile, the misplaced? The obvious answer would be time. And this is also the riddle of good design: very few objects achieve such a rarefied consistency of qualities. This is our aim with the Meze 99 Classics, the anti-fragility of a classic, with a sound on par with the design. Pure, natural sound in a timeless body."

[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]

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Audio Video News
Philips Ultra HD Blu-ray Player to Ship with Creed
SV Staff  |  Jun 14, 2016
P&F USA, the exclusive North American licensee for Philips video products, has announced that the Ultra HD (UHD) Blu-ray version of Creed will be bundled with the Philips BDP7501 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player, which will be available later this month for $400.
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Signals
An Apocalyptic Day for Physical Media
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jun 14, 2016
Do you hate the silvery sound of CDs? Then you can rejoice because a bunch of them just got crushed. Do you think LPs are just scratchy pieces of plastic? Then be happy because a load of them just got crushed too. In fact, a misunderstanding between two bands with automotive-inspired names recently resulted in an apocalyptic day for physical media.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Inca Introduces Multipurpose TV Lift
SV Staff  |  Jun 13, 2016
If you like the idea of “wow” automation, you might want to check out Inca’s new multipurpose TV lift, which can be fitted into a cabinet, ceiling, or floor with some adjustments and accessories.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Upgraded Denon Heos Speakers Now Available
SV Staff  |  Jun 13, 2016
Denon has announced that the upgraded Series 2 versions of the four wireless speakers in its Heos line are now available.
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Tech2
Finding Dory Review
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jun 12, 2016
I got invited to preview showing of Finding Dory and I have some thoughts.

Overall thoughts after the jump, then some deeper (a pun) thoughts after another break.

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Music Reviews
The Allman Brothers Band: Idlewild South: Super Deluxe Edition
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 10, 2016
Performance
Sound
When the last notes of “Trouble No More” rang out at The Beacon Theatre in New York in the wee hours of the morning on October 29, 2014—closing an epic show comprised of three full sets and a two-song encore that had commenced over 4 hours previously on the night of October 28—most agreed The Allman Brothers Band had capped their long, storied 45-year career by hittin’ all the right notes. With thousands of performances under their collective belts, the Allmans triumphantly closed out the tab on being one of the most thrilling, adventurous, and aurally exciting live bands of the rock era.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Big Short
Brandon A. DuHamel  |  Jun 10, 2016
Picture
Sound
Extras
Based on Michael Lewis’ non-fiction book, The Big Short brings together the ensemble cast of Steve Carell (who plays Mark Baum, a character based on the real-life Steve Eisman), Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, and Ryan Gosling as a number of Wall Street moneymen who discover the fraud underpinning the mortgage lending practices of the big banks and independently make moves to profit from the impending collapse of the system. Additionally, the film makes comical use of celebrities, playing themselves, to explain some of the technical financial jargon in layman’s terms. Margot Robbie in a bubble bath explaining subprime mortgage-backed securities is my personal favorite.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Assassin
Josef Krebs  |  Jun 10, 2016
Picture
Sound
Extras
In 8th century China, the Tang dynasty, in decline, had built garrisons at the frontiers of its empire, but a hundred years later, some of those militarized provinces chose independence from the emperor. Weibo is the strongest, so a lovely assassin is sent to kill the head of its clan, Lord Tian. Made by Taiwanese writer-director Hsiao-Hsien Hou, The Assassin’s gorgeous, static imagery and characters, glacially slow-moving camera, and mood-filled silences are matched by the mysteries of the story that are only very gradually revealed, all of which evoke the poetic films of the great Andrei Tarkovsky.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Optoma Unveils Innovative Laser DLP Projectors
SV Staff  |  Jun 10, 2016
Optoma has announced two innovative single-chip DLP laser phosphor projectors: A first-of-its-kind 4K/Ultra HD (UHD) ultra short throw model and a WUGXA model with a rated brightness of 5,500 lumens.
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