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Headphone Reviews
Focal Hadenys & Azurys Headphones Review: Two Paths, One Foundation
Mark Henninger  |  May 02, 2025

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $749 (Hadenys, open-back); $599 (Azurys, closed-back)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
• Shared aluminum/magnesium “M-shaped” driver keeps voicing consistent
• Comfortable, lightweight build with replaceable cables and pads
• Hadenys delivers a wide, open stage; Azurys isolates well without obvious colorations
• Both offer deeper-than-expected bass extension for single-ended dynamic designs
Minus
• Azurys’ cups can warm up during long sessions
• Asking price edges above most feature-rich wireless competition

THE VERDICT
Focal’s Hadenys (open-back) and Azurys (closed-back) are fraternal twins that make the case for sticking with a proven mechanical recipe and letting enclosure design dictate personality. By removing wireless frills and matching every other component—driver, yoke, pads, cabling—Focal spotlights the audible trade-offs between ventilation and isolation. If you own one, you will immediately “get” the other; if you own both, you’ll rarely worry about choosing the wrong headphone for the occasion.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Monitor Audio Studio 89 Loudspeaker Review
Daniel Kumin  |  May 02, 2025

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $2,499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Outstanding musical accuracy
Surprisingly deep bass & wide‑open dynamics for size
Very handsome piano‑black finish
Minus
Rear ports mean they’re not bookshelf‑friendly
No protective grilles supplied

THE VERDICT
Monitor Audio’s smallest Studio‑series model delivers reference‑grade balance, imaging, and scale far beyond its modest dimensions—so long as you treat it like the serious loudspeaker it is.

I’ve had a soft spot for compact speakers for decades. An expertly engineered stand‑mount can rival or even surpass many floorstanders in stereo imaging and tonal accuracy—everything except the very lowest octave—and they’re easier to live with. What’s not to like?

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Top Picks
AV Excellence: Our Curated Top Picks for 2025
Mark Henninger  |  Apr 30, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 23, 2025
Looking ahead, we've refreshed our Sound & Vision Top Picks list to better reflect how AV enthusiasts shop today. There are numerous excellent product evaluation sites online, all diligently testing the equipment we consider for inclusion in our lists.

Year after year, these sources typically arrive at a consensus—though the concept of labeling a single product as "best" remains inherently subjective. After all, what might be "best" for one person's budget and preferences may not align perfectly with another's needs. Some products stand out for their top performance, but they usually have high prices.

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Audio Video News
Digital Trends vs. Caleb Denison: How a Friendly Send-Off Turned Into a Copyright Showdown
Mark Henninger  |  Apr 29, 2025
For nearly a decade and a half Caleb Denison was the face—and, frankly, the voice—of Digital Trends’ A/V coverage. If you’ve watched a TV review on the site’s 1.3-million-subscriber YouTube channel, you’ve heard the guy: plain-spoken, velvet-baritone narration backed by B-roll of the latest OLEDs, soundbars, and turntables. Then, in mid-April, Denison announced he was leaving to “own the work I create,” thanking Digital Trends (DT) but making it clear he wanted to steer his own ship.
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Music Reviews
Alex Lifeson on the Mixing of Envy of None’s New Album in Dolby Atmos (and Some Rush Talk Too)
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 27, 2025

Irony, your official band name has duly been dubbed Envy of None. That’s the tres-cool moniker for a four-piece Canadian/American band that includes vocalist/keyboardist Maiah Wynne, multi-instrumentalists Andy Curran (Coney Hatch) and Alf Annibalini, and guitarist Alex Lifeson, the latter of whom you may know from his innovative halcyon decades in that little ol’ prog-rock trio from Ontario known as Rush. Read music editor Mike Mettler’s in-depth review of the all-new Dolby Atmos mix of EON’s sophomore effort, Stij(ē)ən Wāvs, to see how just how well they fare in the 360-degree universe. . .

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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Steel This Book
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 26, 2025

The popularity of 4K and HD Blu-rays discs in premium metal packaging is showing no signs of slowing down, and so we proffer this sampling of some of the most interesting drops. Some here are making their stateside 4K debut, some represent alternative packaging or availability (i.e. previously sold in other editions or within larger collections), while a couple bring exclusive upgrades in video quality.

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4K TV ReviewsLCD TV ReviewsTV Reviews3D Tech
Samsung G90XF 3D Gaming Monitor Review: Glasses-Free 3D Done Right
Mark Henninger  |  Apr 25, 2025

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE
$1,999.99

AT A GLANCE
Plus
• Glasses-free 3D technology delivers a surprisingly comfortable viewing experience
• Excellent 2D performance with a high refresh rate and snappy response time
• Effective eye tracking maintains a stable 3D effect
• Versatile performance across games, VR-style content, and productivity tasks
• Polished Samsung build quality and design

Minus
• Noticeable resolution drop in 3D mode
• Brief delay for eye tracking to lock onto your position
• Premium price tag

THE VERDICT
Samsung’s G90XF 3D gaming monitor takes a bold step forward, introducing a glasses-free 3D experience that’s both immersive and easy on the eyes. It eliminates the bulk and fatigue of traditional 3D glasses or VR headsets, providing a more natural sense of depth that doesn’t strain your vision over time.

Yes, you’ll sacrifice a bit of resolution when toggling on 3D, but the resulting holographic effect more than makes up for it—games and videos truly pop off the screen.

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Audio Video News
Kaleidescape Joins 8K Association
Mark Henninger  |  Apr 24, 2025
Movie-server specialist Kaleidescape has signed on as the newest member of the 8K Association (8KA), a trade group that promotes standards and best practices for ultra-high-definition video. The move places the California-based company alongside display makers, chipset suppliers, and content providers working to accelerate an 8K ecosystem.
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New Products
Bowers & Wilkins Introduces Px7 S3 Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Mark Henninger  |  Apr 24, 2025
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) has announced the Px7 S3, a third-generation over-ear model that the company positions as its “most advanced and capable” wireless headphone to date. The new design replaces 2023’s Px7 S2e and brings several firsts to the line, including a discrete on-board headphone amplifier, an upgraded eight-microphone active-noise-cancellation (ANC) system, and upcoming support for both spatial-audio processing and Bluetooth LE Audio with Auracast broadcast mode.
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Home Movie Theaters
Beyond the Glow: Inside VIP Home Theaters’ Ambitious Dream
Mark Henninger  |  Apr 20, 2025
It's the last day of AXPONA 2025. Late on Sunday afternoon, somewhere between exhaustion and curiosity, I was camped on the Renaissance Convention Center carpet when a father‑and‑daughter team approached. Tom Adamczyk and his daughter Monica weren’t exhibiting; but they were sponsors. They urged me to leave the show and audition a “world‑class” private cinema they’d built under their design/build outfit, VIP Home Theaters. Their pitch: We don’t just design the room—we build the speakers, too.
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