LATEST ADDITIONS

Highlights include the gaming-focused EA Sports MVP Carbon by Monster headphone ($270), featuring proprietary surround processing and available in black or white beginning in February/March; the in-ear ClarityMobile line with three models aimed at business travelers—a $50 model with an in-line microphone and two $70 models—slated to hit stores in April; an angular on-ear addition to the Diesel VEKTR line offered in military green and chrome ($280); three washable iSport in-ear models for the work-out crowd, ranging from $80 to $160; seven on-ear and in-ear DNA models, featuring a triangular ear cups and dual inputs that allow five ‘phones to be connected at once, ranging in price from $130 to $230; new on-ear and in-ear Bluetooth-powered wireless models with noise cancellation for the Nokia Purity line; and the youth-focused N-Pulse headphones, a new addition to the NCredible line developed with Nick Cannon and available in black or white for $200.

For me, LG’s CES press conference was an anti-climax: The company had already announced its 2013 TV and Blu-ray/audio offerings in a conference call a few weeks prior to the event. The upside was I didn’t have to take many notes —something that’s not always easy to do at 8 a.m. when you’re jet-lagged. Here are the highlights.

Smart TV

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value

Since I was a little kid, I always loved going to the movie theater. I guess it started in 1977 when I watched Star Wars for the first time in Modesto, California (yeah, the place where George Lucas grew up—nice coincidence). Over the next 20 years, you’d find me at the theater at least once a week enjoying the latest blockbuster with a few friends and a bucket or two of good popcorn—the stuff that was popped in coconut oil, not the crap they sell today. Fast-forward to 1996 as I was walking through my local Circuit City and witnessed a demo of the Twister DVD on a 50-inch rear-projection television with a rudimentary surround system. Wow, was I sold in that instant! The next day, I dragged my wife to the store for the demo and informed her that we needed to start putting money away for a new TV and one of them fancy surround systems for our house.

SP3 Surround Processor
Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
 
9B SST² Amplifier
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

If you’ve ever spent an afternoon at a big-box store courting eye strain and knee pain comparing the lineup of AVRs, then you’ve doubtless discovered that, superficially at least, the offerings have more in common than not. Sure, the more you spend, the more buzzwords are silk-screened across the front panel, the more HDMI connections you find around back, and, when it comes to power, the more exaggeration you get. One thing about Bryston and power—it’s not within theirs to lie. My first audiophile speakers, Magnepan MG-IIIa speakers, didn’t turn amazing until they met a Bryston 4B amp. If current is what your speakers crave, a Bryston amp could be their best friend.