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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
His Girl Friday
Fred Kaplan  |  May 26, 2017
Picture
Sound
Extras
This is the funniest classic film that doesn’t star the Marx Brothers and one of the best—certainly the most frantic—newspaper movies (outgunned only by the very different All the President’s Men). It also marks the peak in director Howard Hawks’ fling with super-fast pace and overlapping dialogue, which he’d pioneered over the previous two years, with Bringing Up Baby and Only Angels Have Wings, and which influenced many future directors, notably Robert Altman.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Outlaw Audio Updates its Longstanding Receiver
SV Staff  |  May 26, 2017
Outlaw Audio is updating the venerable RR2150 stereo receiver it introduced more than a decade ago with an internet-ready model that supports high resolution audio.
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Audio Video News
Netflix Cancels “The Get Down”
SV Staff  |  May 26, 2017
In a surprise move, Netflix has canceled The Get Down,” a series about the birth of hip-hop after only one season.
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Editor's Eye
Wireless Is Wonderful…When It Works
Rob Sabin  |  May 26, 2017
Wireless music is a beautiful thing but not everyone has figured out how to deliver a glitch-free experience. What's going on?
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Audio Video News
Networks Lure Binge Viewers
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 25, 2017
Once a year, House of Cards fans cancel all social obligations and hole up to bingewatch the new season of the Netflix original series in an evening or two or three. Other networks want a piece of that action.
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Bluetooth Speaker ReviewsWireless Multiroom Speaker Reviews
Retro Elegance: Klipsch Three Wireless Music System
Bob Ankosko  |  May 25, 2017

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $400

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Impeccable fit and finish
Streaming via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Excellent sound
Solid bass
Remote control
Minus
App could be more intuitive
Wish there was a display window

THE VERDICT
The Three melds retro style with modern sound in a beautifully crafted tabletop stereo.

I’m not gonna lie. When I first saw a press photo of the Three, I was immediately taken with its elegant retro styling—the wraparound grille, the walnut top…those copper control knobs. I wanted one.

Evoking what Klipsch calls the “mid-century” design legacy of its late founder Paul W. Klipsch, the Three boasts impeccably finished walnut panels, a knit grille, and a copper strip with two knobs—one for volume, the other for source selection—plus something you don’t expect to see on modern gear: a toggle switch. Positively retro. Behind the classic façade is a stereo pair of 2.25-inch drivers that flank a 5.25-inch woofer. Klipsch has also incorporated two 5.25-inch passive radiators—one on each end of the enclosure—to boost bass output.

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Ask S&V
Can I Use My Amp's Speaker B Jacks for My Sub?
Al Griffin  |  May 25, 2017
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

A I’m using a Yamaha AX-497 integrated amplifier to power a pair of Elac speakers with a nominal 4-ohm impedance. I also have a Yamaha YST-SW315 subwoofer I’d like to use in my system. Here’s my question: If the speakers are wired directly to the amp as speaker pair A, and the powered subwoofer is connected as speaker pair B, can I power both simultaneously without damaging the amplifier? (The amplifier’s manual warns against connecting more than one pair of 4-ohm speakers.) For convenience reasons, I would rather not wire the main speakers through the subwoofer. —V.A. Dare / via e-mail

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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 1985: First Million Selling CD Released
SV Staff  |  May 25, 2017
CD was just beginning to catch on when Dire Straits released its fifth studio album Brothers in Arms in May 1985. Driven by the iconic (and controversial) hit single “Money For Nothing,” the album was the first to sell one million copies in the CD format and the first to outsell its LP counterpart.
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SmartStream
What You Can Do to Save Net Neutrality (Again)
Barb Gonzalez  |  May 24, 2017
Net neutrality is being threatened again. What you can do to stop the repeal of the Title II Order that allows the FCC to protect our fair and free access to the internet.
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Blu-ray Player Reviews
Sony UBP-X800 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player Review
Al Griffin  |  May 24, 2017

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $300

AT A GLANCE
Plus
High-quality video upconversion of standard Blu-rays
Plays SACDs, DVD-Audio discs, and native DSD files
Inexpensive
Minus
No announced Dolby Vision support
No analog audio outputs

THE VERDICT
Sony’s ultra-affordable Ultra HD Blu-ray player offers solid video performance, and it also plays SACDs and DVD-Audio discs.

Call it nostalgia, but the launch of an audio or video format strikes me as an opportunity to reflect on what came before it—especially now, with the sun threatening to set on physical media. When the Blu-ray Disc first appeared a little more than a decade ago, Sony was among its main flagwavers. Not only that, but the company’s PlayStation 3 console was considered by many to be the top-performing player in the Blu-ray format’s primitive days. Samsung and Panasonic were quick to push out standalone Blu-ray players, but the folks at Sony took their sweet time bringing their own model to market. When the BDP-S1 did arrive, it was well received for its picture quality—though it had design quirks, including an inability to play CDs.

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