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AV Receiver ReviewsTower Speaker Reviews
Audio Physic Spark Speaker System and Sunfire Theater Grand TGR-3 A/V Receiver
Gary Altunian  |  Jul 02, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 02, 2007  |  0 comments
American design meets German engineering.

Even a quick glance at the home theater section of your local consumer electronics retailer reveals an overabundance of A/V receivers. They're a staple component in home theater. After you sift through all the ubiquitous brands, you'll come across Sunfire. The company is the creation of the venerable Bob Carver, also founder of Phase Linear and Carver Corporation. In a previous audio life, I sold many Phase Linear 400 and 700 power amplifiers, which were among the most popular and affordable high-powered stereo amps during the 1970s. Bob Carver has consistently reinvented himself and refined his product offerings, and one of his latest creations is the Sunfire Theater Grand TGR-3 A/V receiver from the company's XT Series. It's a component that borrows many features from Sunfire's high-end processors and amplifiers. And its straightforward operation, proprietary features, and impressive sound quality might earn it a place among the best high-end receivers. The TGR-3 is a great example of meticulous American design, albeit of Chinese construction.

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Accessory Reviews
Furman IT-Reference 20i Power Conditioner
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jul 02, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 02, 2007  |  0 comments
Wash, rinse, condition, repeat.

I don't personally believe in fairies, nymphs, leprechauns, or even the boogeyman. In a rational, engineering-driven world, there's little room for such simpleminded fantasies. Reason, and reason alone, can explain the universe at large. Logic isn't only for Vulcans (now there's something I can believe in); it makes our part of the galaxy go around, too. That being said, I'm beginning to grudgingly accept the existence of gremlins—gear gremlins—as I don't have any other explanation for the last two months of nothing but misfortune and malfunction when it's come to anything electronic in my home.

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Audio Video News
Kaleidescape Fights for Survival
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 02, 2007  |  0 comments
The leading maker of movie home networking systems continues to fight for its survival. Kaleidescape won another battle last month, convincing the DVD Copy Control Association to postpone a vote that would have banned storage of movies on a home server and thus put the company out of business. But the story is far from over.
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Other Tech
Don't Get Zapped
Kevin James  |  Jul 01, 2007  |  0 comments

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Definitive Technology Mythos ST Loudspeakers
Daniel Kumin  |  Jul 01, 2007  |  0 comments
The flat-screen revolution has spawned a lot of dramatic and innovative loudspeakers, many of them different takes on the Definitive Technology Mythos - a family of sleek aluminum speakers that almost single-handedly reinvente
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Other Tech
Inner Workings: Inside a Surge Protector
James K. Willcox  |  Jul 01, 2007  |  0 comments
Click on the picture to see a description
Without some form of protection, gear can be damaged or even destroyed by power surges - short bursts of voltage that exceed the U.S. standard of 120 volts.
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Audio Video News
Hi-Def Wheeling And Dealing
 |  Jul 01, 2007  |  0 comments

Looking to continue the sales tear that was sparked by recent promotions that included a $100 in-store rebate on its HD DVD players, Toshiba has made its price reductions on its HD-A2 and HD-A20 permanent. On the other side of the HD fence the Blu-ray camp is responding with a summer-long promo campaign that offers consumers five free Blu-ray titles with the purchase of a player.

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Audio Video News
Bon Jovi Enters at No. 1, Deserves It
SV Staff  |  Jun 30, 2007  |  0 comments
Don't laugh. After all, 292,000 fans can't be wrong. That's how many people bought Bon Jovi's new "country" album, Lost Highway (Island), in the first week of its release, enabling it to enter The Billboard 200 at the top spot in the...
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Home Theater Systems Reviews
Onkyo HT-SR800 Home Theater in a Box
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jun 30, 2007  |  0 comments
Multiple sweet spots from one sweet system.

It's hard to get too excited about most inexpensive HTiBs. That's not to say a system has to cost a lot to be a great value. In fact, there are plenty of one-box-fits-all systems that pack a lot of punch for what you pay. But there's usually so much emphasis on quantity of features that the quality often suffers. In some cases, the system is a hodgepodge of gear thrown together by a manufacturer that sees how popular HTiBs are with the general public and doesn't want to miss out on grabbing its share of the pie.

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Panasonic TH-50PZ750U 50" 1080p Plasma Television
Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 30, 2007  |  0 comments
The $3,999 TH-50PZ750U is in Panasonic's first group of 50" 1080p consumer plasma televisions. There is even a 50" model in the 700 series that offers fewer features than the set we're reviewing here, but costs $500 less.
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