Clint Eastwood is arguably one of the best directors in Hollywood, and even though he's in the twilight of his life, he doesn't seem to be slowing down. While J. Edgar won't be considered one of his better films, I enjoyed it a lot more than most of the critics due to the fabulous acting by Leonardo DiCaprio and the historical significance of the subject. The Blu-ray boasts an above-average video encode with solid detail and intentionally understated colors, but the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is the true star of the show due to reference-quality imaging, dynamics, and frequency response.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/bond1.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>His name is Bond, James Bond, Ian Flemming's immortal action hero who has graced the silver screen for over 45 years. Everyone has their favorite Bond&#151;is it Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby, or Daniel Craig, the latest actor to prefer his martinis shaken, not stirred?

PRICE $3,500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Powerful output for a compact model
Onboard Digital Automatic Room Optimization
Dual-sub setup option
Minus
Lacks below-20Hz extension
Gloss black finish attracts dust

THE VERDICT
The f110v2 lacks the output and extension of a larger sub, but packs quite a punch given its modest size.

According to Merriam-Webster, a fathom is a unit of length equal to six feet that's used to measure the depth of water. But for JL Audio, Fathom is a family of subwoofers that dig deep into the lower depths of the audio spectrum. The company, which has been around north of forty years, was started by Jim Birch and Lucio Proni, who started building loudspeakers during their summer break back in the 1970s and never stopped.

<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/johnadams.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography <I>John Adams</I> by David McCullough, this Emmy-winning HBO miniseries focuses on the life of the second president of the United States, from the Boston Massacre, where he defended the accused British troops, until his death on July 4, 1826. With his vision of a nation of liberty and justice for all, Adams (Paul Giamatti) guided his peers&#151;George Washington (David Morse), Benjamin Franklin (Tom Wilkinson), and Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane)&#151;in setting the values and plans upon which our country was founded. His steadying force was his wife Abigail (Laura Linney), whose life-spanning partnership became one of the most moving love stories in American history.