LATEST ADDITIONS

This Week
This Week in Music, September 17, 2013: Costello wants to play with the Roots
Ken Richardson  |  Sep 16, 2013
Also reviewed: Richard X. Heyman, Potty Mouth. Plus: boxes of the Band and the Grateful Dead.
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Audio Video News
RIP: Tech Pioneer Ray Dolby
SV Staff  |  Sep 16, 2013
Dolby Laboratories announced that Ray Dolby, an American inventor recognized around the world for developing groundbreaking audio technologies, died on September 12 at his home in San Francisco, at the age of 80. Dr. Dolby had been living with Alzheimer's Disease in recent years, and was diagnosed in July of this year with acute leukemia.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
TV Nation: Behind the Candelabra, Arrow and Spartacus: War of the Damned
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 14, 2013
The small screen serves up some big drama in these three TV-on-Blu-ray releases, from Liberace to slave revolt to big-city vigilante justice.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Sony STR-DN1040 AV Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 13, 2013

Audio Performance
Video Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $599

At A Glance
Plus: Improved construction and sound • Wi-Fi, AirPlay, Bluetooth • 4K video with scaling
Minus: Room correction didn’t work in our sample

The Verdict
A feature-packed, all around stellar performer offering incredible bang for the buck.

If I were down on my luck—jobless, hopeless, living on beans à la can—and absolutely had to buy a new audio/video receiver on a tight budget, how much would I spend? The magic number is $600.

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Streaming Device Reviews
Pioneer Elite N-50 Network Audio Player
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 12, 2013
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price $699

At A Glance
Plus: USB DAC built in • AirPlay, optional Bluetooth
Minus: Small font on display • No headphone output

The Verdict
This is a great-sounding way to add network audio features, especially the crucial USB DAC, to an existing system.

Have you watched in dismay as new features have left your old surround receiver or stereo preamp in the dust? Would you like to hang on to your old buddy but give it a new coat of paint? The Pioneer Elite N-50 bids to do just that, bringing a USB DAC, optional wireless connectivity, and other computer audio-related features into a rack-size component. It brings your existing equipment up to date for the second decade of the 21st century.

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Remotely Possible
Et 2.0, HDMI?
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 12, 2013
They could have done it. The folks in the Forum could have chosen, as Brutus did with his one-time friend, Julius, to dig the knife in deep after we’d already been stabbed 1.2, 1.3, even or 1.4 times. That’s why, when the HDMI Forum announced last week that they’d come up with Version 2.0 of the HDMI Specification, I prepared myself for the pain of deciphering new nomenclature and figuring out which HDMI cables were good for what features and which gear. And, despite the fact that I know better, I couldn’t help but feel that the IOGEAR Wireless 5x2 HDMI Matrix Switcher I’ve been playing with for the last month or two was already out of date.

Such is the heartache that always comes with the announcement of any new specification or technology...

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
This Week in Movies & TV, September 10, 2013: Explorers, Spies, & Imposters
SV Staff  |  Sep 10, 2013
Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek: Stardate Collection, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Parade’s End, La Cage aux Folles, Marathon Man.
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This Week
This Week in Music, September 10, 2013: The country side of Sheryl Crow
Ken Richardson  |  Sep 10, 2013  |  First Published: Sep 17, 2013
This Week in Music, September 10, 2013: The country side of Sheryl Crow
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Audio Video News
Acoustic Sounds Launches High-Resolution Music Site Featuring DSD Downloads
SV Staff  |  Sep 09, 2013
Acoustic Sounds, the Salina, Kansas-based company that sells audiophile recordings and operates the vinyl reissue label Analogue Productions, has launched a music site that offers music downloads in a variety of high-resolution formats, including Direct Digital Stream (DSD). The company recently signed a deal with Sony Music and has begun making back catalog DSD recordings available.
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Grace Notes
Movie Premiere: Riddick
SV Staff  |  Sep 06, 2013
Riddick is an intergalactic murderous badass. When things start to go south, he’s your best and only hope.
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