LATEST ADDITIONS

Ears On
Sgt. Pepper Meets Dolby Atmos
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jun 02, 2017
If you're a Beatlemaniac, by now you've heard all about the 50th anniversary reissue of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Perhaps you've even read our interview with producer Giles Martin. What remains to be said about this milestone about a milestone? How about Sgt. Pepper in Dolby Atmos?

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Audio Video News
THX Now Certifies Smartglasses
SV Staff  |  Jun 02, 2017
THX is branching out beyond its traditional AV core with a certification program that “ensures a world-class viewing experience for augmented and virtual reality wearable devices.”
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Bluetooth Speaker ReviewsWireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Naim Mu-so Qb Wireless Music System Review
Bob Ankosko  |  Jun 01, 2017

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $900

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Elegant design
Impeccable build quality
Compact form factor
Terrific sound quality
Minus
Limited streaming options
Expensive

THE VERDICT
The Mu-so Qb is pricey, but it’s impeccably built, offers a number of wired and wireless playback options, and is one of the best-sounding compact wireless speaker systems I’ve heard.

I was trolling for high-bit-rate internet radio stations when I stumbled upon Incubus performing “Love Hurts” on Alternative Times Radio out of Prague. I’d never heard the song before but was immediately captivated by the richness of Brandon Boyd’s voice and how realistic the kick drum and snare sounded. And the stream was only 128 kilobits per second…

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Ask S&V
Which Sounds Better, HDtracks or Tidal?
Al Griffin  |  Jun 01, 2017
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q In the early days of high-res audio, I downloaded loads of music from HDtracks and played it on my laptop with JRiver Media Center. More recently, I took the plunge on a Premium subscription from music streaming service Tidal.

Here’s my question: Which has better sound quality, music downloaded from HDtracks or streamed from Tidal?  I did listening comparisons using the same songs from each service but couldn’t tell a difference. (HDtracks downloads had slightly better clarity, perhaps?) I’m also wondering if one service offers higher resolution than the other. —Timothy Hatfield

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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 1929: First All-Color Talkie Debuts in NYC
SV Staff  |  Jun 01, 2017
This week in 1929, the year inextricably linked to the October stock market crash that plunged the country into the Great Depression, On With the Show opened at New York City’s Winter Garden Theater with sound and color.
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The S&V Interview
Giles Martin & Little Steven on 50 Years of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper
Mike Mettler  |  Jun 01, 2017
It was 50 years ago today that. . . well, you, of course, know the rest, don’t you? For on this storied day of June 1, 1967, The Beatles transformed the album format into an artform virtually overnight when they released the long-anticipated Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. To get a relatively balanced perspective on Sgt. Pepper at age 50, I spoke with both producer Giles Martin and Little Steven Van Zandt about the album's impact on both sides of the Pond.
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Audio Video News
Dolby Atmos Sound Comes to Laptops
SV Staff  |  Jun 01, 2017
Object-based Dolby Atmos sound is moving into the portable realm in a new series of laptops featuring the world's first Dolby Atmos Sound System.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
LG Ships its First Compact Laser Projector
SV Staff  |  Jun 01, 2017
The compact 1080p DLP laser projector LG unveiled at CES in January is now available for $1,500.
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Audio Video News
May 2017 Top Picks at a Glance
SV Staff  |  May 31, 2017
Following in the footsteps of April, May also brought us seven Top Picks—a drop-dead gorgeous 4K OLED TV, three different yet exemplary TV speaker systems, Sony’s first Ultra HD Blu-ray player, a modern wireless speaker hidden in a retro body, and the latest wireless gear from Yamaha. Which of these will make your short list?
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Bluetooth Speaker ReviewsIntegrated Amp ReviewsWireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Yamaha MusicCast WXA-50 Amplifier and WX-010 Speaker Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 31, 2017

MusicCast WX-010 Speaker
Performance
Build Quality
Value

MusicCast WXA-50 Amplifier
Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $500 (amp); $200 (speaker)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Streams to MusicCast devices
Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth
55 watts per channel, Class D
Minus
No headphone jack on amp
No analog input on speaker
Loaded PC may freeze app

THE VERDICT
The Yamaha WXA-50 has a clean and lively sound, a space-saving form factor, and the ability to stream to devices using the company’s MusicCast system—including the reasonable-sounding WX-010 wireless speaker.

If you are the intended audience for the Yamaha MusicCast WXA-50 amplifier, you find A/V receivers too big, black, and boxy. You are happy with two-channel sound but turned off by doghouse-sized stereo amps sitting on the floor. Soundbars may give you Bluetooth, but that isn’t enough. You’re willing to accept the architecture of a conventional home audio system—amp, speakers, sources—but on a more modest scale. And because you live in more than one room, you want a system with multiroom smarts. That’s the WXA-50 stereo integrated amp and MusicCast multiroom system in a nutshell. To make things interesting for this review, we threw in a couple of Yamaha’s latest WX-010 wireless speakers in additional zones.

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