LATEST ADDITIONS

Scott Ross, former General Manager of LucasArts' Industrial Light & Magic and co-founder of Digital Domain with James Cameron and Stan Winston, shares some fascinating stories from his early days as a sound engineer (and cowbell player on Jimi Hendrix's "Stone Free"!), the transition from photochemical to digital effects, Pixar computers, anecdotes from the production of films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Titanic, and What Dreams May Come, his current efforts to make home theater more accessible, and answers to chat room questions.

Run Time: 58:17

Price: $4,798 as tested At A Glance: Tripole surround speakers • Push-pull dualdriver subwoofer design • Magnetically attached perforated metal grilles

Rikki Don’t Lose This Number

It’s a tragic tale with a happy ending—or maybe happy sequel is more accurate since the saga isn’t over yet. Read on because this is the story of a speaker company that helped shape home theater (and even music recording) into what it is today. Along the way, there’s a sad crash and (spoiler alert) a welcome resurrection.

For those of you who are relatively new to the home theater world (and by relatively I mean within the last 20 years), you probably take the idea of a satellite/subwoofer system for granted. What could be more ubiquitous than the sat/sub system with all the bazillions of HTIBs based on that concept in people’s homes? Very few of us would consider a home theater to be serious if it didn’t include a subwoofer (or multiple subwoofers) placed in the ideal spot for best bass performance. It took someone to be the first to popularize the idea that the requirements for reproducing the best bass response (both cabinet size and room location) are different than that needed for getting the best mid- and high-frequency performance. That someone was Ken Kreisel.

Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2.5/5
Paul Conroy is not ready to die. But when he wakes up 6 feet underground with no idea of who put him there or why, life for the truck driver and family man instantly becomes a hellish struggle for survival. Buried with only a cell phone and a lighter, his contact with the outside world and ability to piece together clues that could help discover his location are maddeningly limited. Poor reception, a rapidly draining batter, and a dwindling oxygen supply become his worst enemies in a tightly confined race against time - fighting panic, despair and delirium, Paul has only 90 minutes to be rescued before his worst nightmare becomes true.

Based in Berkeley, California, Magico made a splash at CES with its new Q3 speaker, which is a slightly scaled-down version of the well-established—and more expensive—Q5. But what makes the Q5 so special?