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AV Receiver Reviews
Test Report: Yamaha RX-A3000 A/V Receiver
Daniel Kumin  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  0 comments

There's a trend afoot in A/V-land to make even Flagship receivers simpler (at least on the outside), easier to use, and physically more compact and less intimidating. Now Yamaha has boarded this bus, not just with a single model but with an entire new family of AVRs it's calling Aventage (rhymes with fromage). Cheesy names aside, the news here is that, for once, "new and improved" really is: new form factor, new user interface, new network-ability, new remote control, and lots of new (or at least evolved) audio and video technology.

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Gallo Acoustics Nucleus Reference Strada Speakers Page 5
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  0 comments

If I review more speakers like the Gallo Acoustics Nucleus Reference Strada, my Office Depot bill will skyrocket. Within the first 2 minutes of listening to this speaker, I filled a page and a half of my lab notebook with verbiage — and the torrential scribbling continued for days, consuming paper faster than a schnauzer snarfs up Snausages.

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Gallo Acoustics Nucleus Reference Strada Speakers
Brent Butterworth  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  0 comments

If I review more speakers like the Gallo Acoustics Nucleus Reference Strada, my Office Depot bill will skyrocket. Within the first 2 minutes of listening to this speaker, I filled a page and a half of my lab notebook with verbiage - and the torrential scribbling continued for days, consuming paper faster than a schnauzer snarfs up Snausages.

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Test Report: GoldenEar Technology Triton Two Tower Speakers
Al Griffin  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  0 comments

The writer F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said there are no second acts in American lives. But what about third acts? Speaker impresario Sandy Gross is a cofounder of two of the best-known companies in the home theater/audio biz: Polk Audio and Definitive Technology.

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Test Report: Toshiba 55WX800U Toshiba 3D LCD HDT
Rob Sabin  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  0 comments

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably noticed that it's a great big 3D world out there, and it's getting bigger every day. The latest arrival is Toshiba's 55WX800U, a 55-inch 3D LCD TV with edge-lit LED backlighting. At $3,300 (list), the 55WX800U doesn?t come cheap, but it does have the usual array of features we've come to expect from a top-of-the-line set.

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Ask S&V
3D Wars, Roku Controversy, 3D TVs
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  2 comments
Are Walter Murch's arguments against 3D reasonable? Why does Barb Gonzalez dislike Roku? Which 3D TV should I get?
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Secretariat—Walt Disney Pictures
Kris Deering  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  0 comments
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 3/5
Behind every legend lies an impossible dream. Witness the spectacular journey of an incredible horse, Secretariat, and the moving story of his unlikely owner, a housewife who risked everything to make him a champion.
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Signals
Death of the Remote
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  0 comments

Ah, the remote control. The gizmo that gets no respect. Lost under the sofa cushions, berated when its batteries are dead, made into a chew toy by the dog, cursed at for having too many buttons, cursed at for having too few. And now the poor thing seems destined to become yet another fine piece of technological roadkill.

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 51: Robert Rich
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  0 comments
Electronic-music composer and mastering engineer Robert Rich discusses the creative process, how making and consuming music has changed over the last 25 years, the audible and cultural effect of data and dynamic-range compression, why surround music hasn't been more successful without a visual component, his all-night "sleep concerts" and 7-hour Somnium music DVD, and answers to chat-room questions.

Run Time: 56:34

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Definitive Technology BP-8080ST Speaker System
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 26, 2011  |  4 comments

Performance
Value
Build Quality
Price: $3,997 At A Glance: Forward Focused Bipolar Array provides spectacular soundstage, imaging, and focus • Built-in powered subs bring the bass slam for movies and music • Big speakers, big sound, small footprint

Bipolar, Refocused and Refined

Living bipolar isn’t an unfortunate state of mind at Definitive Technology; it’s a chosen philosophy. And stretching further, it’s perhaps even a reason for being. Founded in 1990, Definitive is a stalwart brand and a staggering success story in the CE business. Definitive has made compelling entries in the speaker market in recent years with speakers as diverse as its flat, sexy Mythos XTR-50 on-walls and its ultraslim, floorstanding Mythos STS. But the bipolar Super Towers, which include built-in powered subwoofers, are still the flagship line. To this day, much of Definitive’s brand identity is those tall, sleek, and big-sounding black towers. The reason you’re reading this review is that the bipolar Super Tower series has now been completely redesigned and reborn.

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