Darryl Wilkinson

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CES 2015
To Sleep, Perchance to Stream
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jan 10, 2015
Because I suffer from a rare form of workophobia and isolationism, I sometimes have to take a timeout from the world at large and listen to music or some sort of hypnotic trance-inducing soundscape. Lying down with headphones is difficult, at best, and even using in-ear monitors can be uncomfortable when you’re lying on your side. Of course, then there’s the headphone/earbud cable albatross around your neck that invariably gets caught on something and yanks one of the buds out of your ear or wraps around your neck almost strangling you.

SleepPhones calls its headphone-embedded headband “pajamas for your ears”, and they’re designed to be...

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Audio Video News
Top Picks from Video Pickers
Darryl Wilkinson  |  May 23, 2006
The Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) - the dudes who spend most of their working hours watching and selling movies and video games (man, what a life - it'a almost as devoid of real "work" as being an audio/video gear reviewer) - have released its nominations for the organization's 2006 Home Entertainment Awards. While some of the categories include such blockbusters as "Marketing Campaign of the Year", "Sell-through Title of the Year", and "Rental Title of the Year", others are likely to be of more interest to the average video junkie.
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Projector SetupProjector Tech
Transparent Ambition
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Oct 28, 2005  |  Published: Jun 28, 2005
Acoustically transparent projection screens let you put the voices where the action is.

When you see a movie in a commercial cinema, it's easy to suspend disbelief and pretend you're watching the action through a window. One important reason for this is the fact that the sound of the characters' voices seems to come from their apparent location, rather than from above or below the screen.

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CEDIA 2013
Tremor FX Home Makes Soundtrack Effects that Really Affect You
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 27, 2013
RedSeat Entertainment is launching the Tremor FX Home, “a dynamic home theater system that incorporates seat vibrations into movies, games and other entertainment.” Available in both pre-installed versions as well as kits for retrofitting into existing seating, Tremor FX’s technology is designed to dynamically vibrate and pulsate in response to a movie’s soundtrack via a series of actuators integrated into each seat.
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Dolby Atmos Speaker ReviewsSurround Sound System ReviewsBookshelf Speaker ReviewsSubwoofer Reviews
Triad Atmos-Enabled InRoom Bronze LR-H Speaker System Review
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Aug 06, 2015

InRoom Bronze LR-H Speaker System
Performance
Build Quality
Value

InWall Bronze/4 SlimSub
Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $11,050

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Dolby Atmos enabled
Natural, open character
Superb match with InWall Bronze/4 SlimSub
Minus
Atmos operation limits use in cabinets or behind a screen

THE VERDICT
Awesome for Atmos and awesome at most everything else.

Nine out of 11.4 people (approximately) reading this report are thinking, “Who the hell is Triad?” (Hopefully, fewer folks are asking, “What the hell is Atmos?” If you’re one of them, hang in there. I’ll get to Atmos in a bit.) To answer the original question, Triad is a Swiss Army Knife-like manufacturer of custom-installed speakers. That is, regardless of the particular application, Triad has a blade—er, speaker—designed and built for it (in the U.S. of A., by the way). You need in-room, in-ceiling, or in-wall speakers? Check. Invisible in-wall speakers? Ditto. OK, what kind of subwoofer do you want? The standard in-room or an in-wall design? Yes and yes. (Yawn.) Why not try something a little less common, like one of Triad’s on-wall, in-cabinet, or in-ceiling subwoofers? Then there’s Triad’s esoteric and rather sinister-looking FlexSub, which includes an expandable, flexible tube that channels the bass output from the hidden subwoofer cabinet to a remotely located grate or grille.

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In-Wall Speaker Reviews
Triad DS500 In-Wall Speaker System
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Jun 07, 2010
Price: $3,400 At A Glance: Totally invisible speakers • Extremely diffuse dispersion • Must be used with a subwoofer

Invisible or Invisibull?

It’s a terrible disease in which your brain gets eaten away from the inside out—yet you won’t see those little donation boxes at checkout counters begging for your loose change to find a cure. In fact, most people aren’t aware that it even exists, although they certainly see its debilitating effects every day. It’s called Chronic Euphemism Syndrome (CES), and it runs rampant throughout consumer electronics companies’ marketing departments. Salespeople suffer mightily from it, too. The entire profession is tainted with images of the truth being throttled to within inches of its life in the back room where the salesperson heads after he says, “Let me ask my manager.”

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Triad InRoom Silver Speaker System
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Nov 22, 2005
There's beauty in these boxes.

When you live with something or somebody long enough (no matter how good the body—or how great the personality), it's all too easy to become complacent about how well off you are. That thought came to mind the other night when I was watching, of all things, The Blues Brothers. I had forgotten how great the music is in that movie. But then I noticed that part of what had made me rediscover my appreciation for the movie was the truly nice Triad Silver speaker system I had been living with for a little while but had stopped noticing.

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In-Wall Speaker ReviewsSubwoofer Reviews
Triad InWall Bronze/4 SlimSub and RackAmp 350 DSP Subwoofer Amp
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Oct 11, 2013

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $1,400

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Installer setup over IP
Options for wide, narrow, and frameless grilles
Six-band parametric EQ
Minus
Installation may be tricky for the uninitiated

THE VERDICT
Extensive tuning capabilities make for true high-end performance at an affordable price.

When it comes to architectural speakers, there are few companies I can think of that do things in a more focused, more insightful, and—most important when it comes to custom installations—more useful way than Triad. The company stands out in another way, too, in that most of Triad’s speakers are built to order in the U.S. (Portland, Oregon, to be specific) and are usually less than two weeks old by the time they arrive at the dealer’s warehouse door.

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CEDIA 2017Remotely Possible
Triad One Amp Adds High-Res Sound Zones to Control4 Systems
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 08, 2017
Triad Speakers (a division of home automation and entertainment company, Control4) announced today the speaker company’s first foray into the amplifier market with the introduction of the Triad One Streaming Amplifier. The new Triad One is a single-zone, high-resolution, wired and wireless streaming amplifier with two channels of amplification of 100-watts each. Designed to function as a component within Control4 whole-house automation and entertainment system, offers a simple way to add an additional zone without having to pay for amplifier channels that won’t be used in a multichannel amp.

The company says that the Triad One is...

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CEDIA 2012
TV Antenna + Motorcycle = Bad Idea
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Sep 06, 2012
Antennas Direct is really into antennas. That’s all they seem to want to talk about, which is not surprising since antennas are what the company makes. However, they may have gone too far with this prototype antenna for the person who likes to watch TV while cruising down the highway in his sidecar motorcycle. So far no one seems to make a mount suitable for use to install one of Sony’s new 84-inch 4K flat panels in the sidecar.

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