Fred Manteghian

Definitive Technology had some neat new speakers. Above, the new Mythos STS, a slightly smaller and less expensive version of the ST I just reviewed, but with the same 300 watt powered subwoofer. I like the fact that being shorter, their tweeters are at ear level and imaging seemed excellent.

Oh, I could tell you about the Yamaha's RX-V2700 7.1 channel receiver's Ethernet connection lets you access Internet radio stations and music stored on computer drives, or how the RX-V2700 has 140 watts for each of its seven channels, or about how they extended the room optimization (equalization) module to go down to 31 Hz instead of 63Hz. Or I could mention that the receiver will supersize your 480i video to 480p, or even 720p or 1080i using the Anchor Bay Technology's ABT1010 video chip. Or I could say that if you use Yamaha's $100 iPod docking station, you can control the iPod with the receiver's remote. Or I could say that the can get all this for only $1,699.

I played out my pair of <a href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/fredmanteghian/110406Shure/" target="new">Shure E4c</a> about a year ago when, ensconced in their circular case, they rolled out of my car into oncoming traffic. Realizing the driving public wasn't trained by years of reading signs on the back of 18-wheelers declaring "Where there's a rolling earphone case, there's a running audiophile," I erred on the side of caution. Bye-bye Shure.

When it comes to hard news about consumer electronics, I get it pretty much the same way you do. I read it on the internet. Sure, I could take time out of my day to call a certain Korean hardware manufacturer and ask them if the on-again-off-again combo HD drive is on again or off again, but it would be so much easier just to read someone else's report on the internet which, depending on which temporal continuum you're surfing could be accurate or fallacious or, if you're hanging out with Tim Rice decked out as a transvestite, both.