Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Elemental Totem
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 14, 2011

Totem Acoustic's president and chief designer Vince Bruzzese talks about the company's new Element line of speakers.

Premiere Design
Emillé Rapture Monoblock Amplifier
Scott Wilkinson  |  Aug 31, 2010
In 771 C.E., a huge bronze bell was cast by King Hyegong of the Silla Empire in what is now South Korea to honor his grandfather, King Seongdeok. Called the Emillé Bell, its remarkable sound can be heard evenly in all directions, and its reverberations last for three minutes, longer than any other bell in the world. Some 1220 years later, Korean high-end audio maker Emillé Labs took its name and inspiration from the famous bell, handcrafting all of its tube-based electronics, including the new Rapture monoblock power amp featured here, to sound as incredible as the company's namesake.
Continue Reading >
Premiere Design
Eminent Technology TRW-17 Rotary Subwoofer
Scott Wilkinson  |  Aug 17, 2010
And now for something completely different—a subwoofer that looks like a fan and can reproduce frequencies down to 1Hz and below. Yep, you read that right—1Hz and below. Developed by Bruce Thigpen and available from Eminent Technology, the Thigpen Rotary Woofer Model 17 (TRW-17) breaks entirely new ground at the very bottom of the sonic spectrum.
Continue Reading >
Tower Speaker ReviewsSubwoofer Reviews
Energy Take 5.2 surround speaker system
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jul 21, 2002

When it comes to surround-speaker systems, good things rarely come in small packages. Microsatellites and little subwoofers typically sound thin and anemic, with poor tonal balance and low volume capabilities. Yet there are many situations (e.g., small apartments, dorm rooms, guest rooms) in which such speakers would be ideally suited, if only they produced a reasonably good sound.

Continue Reading >
Ask S&V
Energy Take Classic 5.1 vs. Pioneer SP-PK21BS
Scott Wilkinson  |  Nov 16, 2011
I have a Samsung 46-inch LCD TV, Onkyo TX-NR509 A/V receiver, and KLH HT-60 speakers. I just got the Onkyo, and now I'd like to upgrade my speakers. I am considering the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system as well as the Pioneer SP-PK21BS speakers, but the Pioneers seem a bit large for my room (25x14 feet with a viewing distance of 10 feet). Also, the Pioneer's center speaker is so high, it would block the bottom portion of my screen.

Michael J. Leone

Continue Reading >
Premiere Design
Engström & Engström The Lars Amplifier
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 19, 2010

When Lars Engstr&#246;m built his first first amplifier at age 12 in his native Sweden, he could hardly have foreseen where it would take him. But his passion and talent for audio engineering eventually led him to found <A href="http://www.thelars.se">Engstr&#246;m & Engstr&#246;m</A> in 2009 with his nephew Timo, an industrial designer whose skills complement those of Lars perfectly.

Continue Reading >
Engstrom & Engstrom The Lars Type 2 Monoblock
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 07, 2011
I profiled The Lars Type 1 monoblock integrated tube amp and XLS power amp from Swedish Engstrom & Engstrom last March, so I was looking forward to visiting the company at CES this year. The XLS monoblock has been updated and renamed The Lars Type 2, which can be ordered with 300B tubes for 20 watts of power or 300B XLS tubes for 36W. And thanks to refined manufacturing techniques, the cost of the Type 2 is $68,000/pair, $22,000 less than the XLS was.

The demo system consisted of a dCS Paganini disc player, BAT Rex preamp, two Lars Type 2 amps, and Marten's new Coltrane 2 speakers, all of which combined to create a sublime sound.

Continue Reading >
CEDIA 2011
Entertainment Experience TruVue Vango LED DLP Projector
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 11, 2011
As I was cruising through the Screen Innovations booth, I discovered a projector I had never heard of before, though I learned that it wasn't new at the show. The TruVue Vango from Entertainment Experience is a single-chip DLP model with LED illumination and a claimed contrast ratio of 100,000:1. It comes with an eeColor TruVue color processor, which is also sold by SpectraCal (see next blog entry for more on that).
CEDIA 2010
Epson 9700UB LCD Projector
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 24, 2010
Calibrator extraordinaire Kevin Miller was demonstrating Epson's latest flagship, the THX-certified 9700UB, which has two primary improvements over the previous 9500UB—processing for a fixed anamorphic lens and better panel alignment. (We got right up next to the screen, and the alignment was indeed superb.) Also, all controls remain active in THX mode, which is great news for those who understand that no projector can be perfectly calibrated at the factory, because it depends on the screen and environment. Clips from Alice in Wonderland and Remember the Titans looked amazing on a 96-inch-wide Stewart Studiotek 130, even with a calibrated light output of only 450 lumens.
Continue Reading >
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 6100
Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 04, 2008  |  Published: Sep 05, 2008

Epson's new step-down 1080p line includes the Pro Cinema 7100 (<$3000) and Home Cinema 6100 ($2000). These do not offer the Ultra Black (UB) technology, so the claimed dynamic aspect ratio is "only" 18,000:1. Otherwise, the similarities and differences between them as much the same as the 7500 UB and 6500 UB.

Continue Reading >

Pages

X