Audio Video News

The editors of Sound & Vision would like to extend a heart-felt Happy New Year to all readers as we kick off 2019 by stepping back into 2018 briefly to revisit a handful of gems that may have gotten lost in all the holiday hullabaloo. Among them, a gift of sorts from the speaker connoisseurs at GoldenEar Technology, a no-holds-barred stereo integrated amp that looks as dazzling as it sounds, a super-sophisticated subwoofer that will delight inveterate tweakers, and a pixel-shifting 4K projector that delivers gigantic images with near perfect color for less than two-grand. May 2019 be prosperous and filled with the latest and greatest AV has to offer!

Even though 4K TVs have been on the market for less than five years, numerous companies will announce they’ll start selling 8K TVs at CES next week. This despite the fact that less than half of U.S. homes own a 4K TV, and there’s no 4K programming available yet on U.S. broadcast TV networ

For those who worry about the demise of local retail stores and malls turning into ghost towns, here’s a bit of good news: U.S. retail sales grew 5.1 percent to more than $8.5 billion during the 2018 holiday season, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks in-store and online spending.

Voice technology is pervading our daily lives in a big way. According to insights from a Nielsen Research survey, at the end of June 2018 24% of U.S. homes owned a smart speaker. If my shoddy math is correct, that’s about 31.5 million smart devices (25% of 126 million homes).

Parasound has expanded its NewClassic series of two-channel power amplifiers with an analog preamplifier/DAC (digital to analog converter) that embodies a “new generation of affordable high-performance products.”

Atlantic Technology today announced that it is now shipping the “highest caliber” tower speaker the company has ever built.

The internet-based Canadian home audio company Fluance today expanded its turntable offerings with the new Reference Series line, comprising four servo-controlled belt-driven models ranging in price from $299 to $499.