LATEST ADDITIONS

Geoffrey Morrison  |  Oct 24, 2006  |  First Published: Oct 25, 2006
Monocromaticness.

It's a fact of life that not all people can fit speakers into their living rooms. This could be for size reasons or, shall we say, more personal reasons. This fact has not gone unnoticed in the speaker world, which has been struggling for years with a declining market for big traditional speakers. In-walls have been a choice, but even the best in-walls have to make compromises that often end up being audible. On-walls are a newer choice that manufacturers hope will take out some of the concessions inherent in in-wall mountings. More recently, several companies have begun offering "sound bars" that give you multiple channels of sound from one long speaker that you can mount under your plasma or LCD. Leon is one such company that custom builds all of their speakers. Before they can build you one, though, you have to choose a plasma.

Steve Guttenberg  |  Oct 24, 2006  |  First Published: Oct 25, 2006
The little system that could.

Some guys fantasize about winning the Mega Millions Lottery and driving into the sunset in a $1.25-million Bugatti Veyron 16.4 supercar. Or maybe a giddy winner would fork over heaps of cash for an ultimate home theater. The market for ultrahigh-end exotica is surging, but, while I'm waiting for my big payday, I thought I'd come back down to earth and have some fun with one of Onkyo's most reasonably priced audio/video receivers, the TX-SR504 ($300), partnered with Canton's sleek Movie CD 201 speaker system ($1,999). Budgetary constraints be damned, the little system still had to sound great in my home theater and deliver the goods in a cozy bedroom, office, or den.

Fred Manteghian  |  Oct 24, 2006

To me, Rotel has always been the Everyman's answer to high-end audio. The company has always followed a "straight wire with gain" philosophy, which has earned it respect throughout the audiophile community. Like NAD, it's believed in holding to conservative power ratings, particularly compared to mass-market American and Japanese offerings. My daughter uses "40-Watt" Rotel integrated amplifier that's a decade old to drive her Magnepan MMG speakers, which are a pretty tough load, and it is more than comfortable with the task.

Ultimate AV Staff  |  Oct 24, 2006

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/1006toshiba47lz196.jpg" WIDTH=331 HEIGHT=248 BORDER=0>

Ultimate AV Staff  |  Oct 24, 2006

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/1006toshiba42lz196.jpg" WIDTH=332 HEIGHT=252 BORDER=0>

Ultimate AV Staff  |  Oct 24, 2006

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/1006sonykdl52xbr3.jpg" WIDTH=450 HEIGHT=297 BORDER=0>

Ultimate AV Staff  |  Oct 24, 2006

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/1006kdl52xbr2.jpg" WIDTH=450 HEIGHT=301 BORDER=0>

Ultimate AV Staff  |  Oct 24, 2006

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/1006sonypearl.jpg" WIDTH=450 HEIGHT=238>

Ultimate AV Staff  |  Oct 24, 2006

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/1006sim2ht5000.jpg" WIDTH=450 HEIGHT=200>

Geoffrey Morrison  |  Oct 24, 2006
The people at Microsoft are complete idiots. No, that’s not exactly true. They’re charlatans. They are purposely misleading the public. They recently announced a software upgrade will be available soon that will allow the Xbox 360 to output 1080p.

Pages

X