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Wireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Paradigm Premium Wireless Multiroom Audio System Review
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jun 07, 2016

PW 800 Speaker
Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value

PW Amp Amplifier
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

PW 600 Speaker
Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,897 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Excellent build and sound quality
192-kHz/24-bit support over Ethernet
Anthem Room Correction with included mic
Minus
Limited number of streaming services
Single orientation for PW speakers
Components can’t be powered on via the app
Play-Fi control and proximity limitations

THE VERDICT
Limited streaming options and a few limitations for its Play-Fi multiroom platform are the only things that hold back this beautifully designed system with top-notch room-correction technology.

At last count, 1.34 bazillion established companies and crazed startups were designing wireless streaming audio systems. The latest company to toss its Wi-Fi dongle into the steaming streaming pile is Paradigm. Founded in 1982, the Toronto-based speaker company is no starry-eyed Kickstarter sensation hell-bent on streaming multiroom audio using a Raspberry Pi, an Altoids tin box, and numerous references to the Internet of Things. In fact, as well known as Paradigm is, the company should know better than to sully their engineering hands (they actually do build a lot of their speakers by hand in Toronto) with the interference-ridden mishmash of 802.11g/n standards, amplified speakers, audio codecs, sample rates, apps, and “What’s the best router to use?” On the other hand, maybe Paradigm—with its new Premium Wireless series—has actually succeeded in building a premium, wireless, streamingaudio system.

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A/V Veteran
High Dynamic Range Tests Are Coming Soon
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 07, 2016
We’ve been fortunate in the 1080p world in having a variety of test discs available. While a full calibration requires special test tools, such discs can tell you a lot about how your set performs and help get the basic picture settings right. One of the most popular of such discs, and one of the first, is Digital Video Essentials, shown in the photo here.

But while 4K with high dynamic range (HDR) is now here, there’s still a lack of test materials for this format, particularly the high dynamic range end of the equation...

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Sony Introduces $2,000 Home Theater Projector
SV Staff  |  Jun 07, 2016
Sony today introduced the VPL-HW45ES 1080p home theater projector, which comes on the heels of the VPL-HW65ES, a 2016 Sound & Vision Top Pick.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Vizio Launches Google Cast-Equipped Soundbars
SV Staff  |  Jun 07, 2016
Vizio today introduced the SmartCast line of soundbars featuring Google Cast, making it possible to “cast” video content from a mobile device to a connected TV or stream music from a Google Cast-enabled audio app to the soundbar over Wi-Fi.
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Signals
The Rise and Fall of Stereo (Part Two)
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jun 07, 2016
A couple blogs back, we discussed the ascent of glorious stereophonic sound in “The Rise and Fall of Stereo (Part One).” Stereo was a true revolution in audio playback, and it quickly condemned monaural to an eternity of lo-fi hell. Audio manufacturers’ marketing departments had an easy time convincing consumers to upgrade to stereo; everyone could easily hear the improvement. Now, 50 years later, stereo is unraveling.
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Audio Video News
Connected Cars: What’s the Benefit?
SV Staff  |  Jun 06, 2016
Noting that today’s cars have the ability to process up to 25GB of data in an hour, Janakiram MSV asks how consumers will benefit from connected cars in a recent post on Forbes.com and goes on to point out a number of ways.
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Grace Notes
Ode to Hi-Fi: The End of an Era?
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jun 06, 2016
There are moments that stand out in most people’s lives. Where you were you when you heard John Lennon was shot. Your first kiss. The moment when you first heard high-fidelity music, and it was so profound that it changed the course of your life.

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Audio Video News
Terra's Take on The Art of the Demo
SV Staff  |  Jun 06, 2016
The hardest of hard-core AV enthusiasts live in a world of perpetual upgrades. They love tinkering and being the first on the block with a shiny new piece of gear. They also love showing off those prize possessions, wowing friends, relatives, neighbors—anyone they can get to sit down with their new 4K OLED screen, full-tilt Dolby Atmos surround sound setup—you-name-it.

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Audio Video News
The Internet: You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet
SV Staff  |  Jun 06, 2016
The Internet has had a profound impact on literally every aspect of our lives and it continues to transform the mobile/home entertainment space we know and love in ways we couldn’t have imagined 30 years. (Who could have envisioned streaming from “the cloud” or playing music wirelessly from a phone at a time when cassettes and LPs were being rapidly replaced with CDs?) We’re connected to and rely on the Internet every day, yet we take it for granted. It’s just there. It’s a routine part of daily life.

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Tech2
HTC Vive VR Headset Review, Part 1: Setup
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jun 05, 2016
The era of VR is here, finally, with the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are leading the charge. I’ve tried several generations the Oculus Rift and while it’s amazing, the Vive goes one step further. Literally.

Using laser tracking, the Vive lets you actually move around a virtual space.

I got my hands (and head) on one. Here’s the first part of a multi-part review series.

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