LATEST ADDITIONS

Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 08, 2025
So yeah, steelbooks are totally a thing now, as collectors are driving a growing segment of the physical media market, looking for something that feels special in the hand and looks distinctive on the shelf. It also helps if there’s a good movie inside and the studios have been happy to oblige, mostly revisiting catalog titles to bring us noteworthy releases like these picks from this past summer.
Jim Wilson  |  Jan 08, 2025

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE: $2,999 ($5,699/pair)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Significant upgrades to the driver and amplifier
App is intuitive and responsive
SVS's industry leading Bill of Rights

Minus
Enclosure is fairly deep
Grill doesn't look or feel like it's from a flagship product
So powerful it can blow port plugs out during heavy use (depending upon your perspective, that could be a Plus or a Minus)

THE VERDICT
The PB17-Ultra R|Evolution will likely prove to be a huge success for SVS. It is a noticeable upgrade to their previous flagship, the PB-16 Ultra. This subwoofer excels when pushed, having dynamic range to spare. The app makes tuning a breeze, the resulting sound quality and performance means you’ll probably want to own it for years. This is a long term investment, one you’ll almost certainly be reluctant to upgrade for a very long time.

Introduction
Go big or go home. I'm not sure if that was the theme when SVS was designing the new PB17-Ultra R|Evolution, but it certainly could have been. The motor on this driver is big, the cabinet is big, the sound is big, the feature list is big. There's a saying in the automotive world, there's no replacement for displacement. While forced induction (turbocharger or supercharger) is nice, nothing beats cubic inches. A comparable axiom holds true with subwoofers, if you want a lot of deep bass you'll need a big driver and a large enclosure. It's simple physics really.

Mark Henninger  |  Jan 07, 2025
At a press event on the eve of CES 2025, LG Electronics rolled out what it describes as “Affectionate Intelligence”—its take on artificial intelligence woven throughout daily life. Company representatives say this new AI will impact everything from home appliances to automobiles and commercial systems. Whether it lives up to those promises remains to be seen, but the rhetoric onstage was big.
Mark Henninger  |  Jan 06, 2025
TCL’s push to challenge the top TV brands appears to be gathering momentum. The company, which cites data placing it among the world’s second best-selling TV makers for the past six years, now says it’s doubling down on premium technologies to hold onto that spot—and perhaps narrow the gap with Samsung. TCL’s rise, in fierce competition with fellow Chinese manufacturer Hisense, has made it a contender in the U.S. market once dominated by a select group of established brands.
Mark Henninger  |  Jan 06, 2025
Hisense is showcasing what it calls the first consumer TV with RGB Local Dimming Technology, unveiling a 116-inch TriChroma LED model (116UX) at CES 2025. According to the company, its proprietary design uses individual red, green, and blue LEDs—not filtered white or blue backlights—to deliver what it characterizes as more direct, vibrant color and up to 97% of the BT.2020 color space.
Mark Henninger  |  Jan 06, 2025
Hisense is introducing its first consumer-ready MicroLED display, dubbed the 136MX. According to the company, this 136-inch screen is designed to deliver the benefits of self-emissive technology—where each pixel handles its own light—to sidestep the pitfalls of traditional backlights. Hisense says that approach yields near-infinite contrast and color performance intended to stay consistent over time.
Mark Henninger  |  Jan 06, 2025
LG has announced its 2025 OLED evo series at CES, including what the company describes as the world’s first “true wireless” OLED evo M5, alongside new G5 models. According to LG, these televisions incorporate the latest Alpha 11 AI Processor Gen2 (featured on the G5 and M5 lines) and boast up to three times the brightness of the brand’s previous OLED sets.
Mark Henninger  |  Jan 05, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 06, 2025
Samsung Electronics has introduced what it calls “Vision AI,” along with several new displays, at its CES First Look 2025 event. According to Samsung, this AI-powered technology is meant to move TVs beyond passive viewing devices and into the realm of “interactive, intelligent partners.”
Chris Chiarella  |  Jan 05, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 25, 2024
This season, there are a lot of ways to bring joy to A/V enthusiasts. Movies and TV shows on disc are a great start, so much so that they get their own separate guide, whereas here we take a look at and give a listen to the gear, accessories and music—particularly on vinyl—that are destined to bring a little warmth to the winter months.
Mark Henninger  |  Jan 05, 2025
Samsung Electronics America has announced that its 2025 TV and soundbar lineup will include Eclipsa Audio, a 3D audio format developed in partnership with Google. The company claims Eclipsa Audio allows content creators to direct sounds with more precise location and intensity, aiming to offer viewers a more enveloping audio experience.

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