The editors of Sound & Vision would like to extend a heart-felt Happy New Year to everyone as we get ready to ring in a new decade while taking stock of our Top Picks for the month of December, which produced a handful of AV gems that may have gotten lost during the 2019 holiday shuffle. Among them, a thoroughly modern take on the classic stereo receiver, a killer all-in-one wireless music system, and a unique product that gives enthusiasts a simple way to migrate treasured music and 4K movie discs to a rich digital environment with a user-friendly interface. May 2020 be prosperous and filled with the latest and greatest AV technology has to offer!
The month of February yielded a short but sweet list of Sound & Vision Top Picks that run the gamut from a low price/high performance 5.1 home theater speaker system and combo amp/digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to a decidedly upscale video projector that will leave enthusiasts drooling and a super refined, seven-channel power amplifier from a brand that is synonymous with “high end.” Can you guess who it is?
Speakers are front and center in our January 2019 mix of Top Picks — from a full-on audiophile-approved 5.1 speaker system to a Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbar system that provides an easy path to immersive surround sound plus two distinctly different takes on the ever-popular wireless speaker. Rounding things out is an impressive (and long overdue) update of the original Sonos Connect:Amp and an AVR that nabbed Top Value Pick status for packing an insane level of performance and features into a $700 piece of gear.
Sound & Vision’s Top Picks for July share an admirable trait: They deliver what most of us are looking for: excellent performance at reasonable prices. How reasonable? Prices range from four hundred bucks for a surprisingly refined subwoofer to a full-featured projector with impressive brightness and contrast that can be had for just under $3,000.
In case you lost track, Sound & Vision has added eight products to its prestigious Top Picks list in recent weeks. Among them you’ll find a great sounding soundbar with impressive wireless capabilities, two receivers at opposite ends of the price spectrum, a good old-fashioned stereo speaker system built by a noted designer, and an eight-piece Atmos-enabled home theater speaker system that delivers shockingly good value. When you’re finished reading our quick take summaries, don’t forget to visit the Top Picks page for many more recommendations.
Sound & Vision’s Top Pick designation is reserved for the very best home entertainment has to offer — that is, gear we can recommend without reservation. Among our June Picks is a 4K laser projector that delivers a bright picture with powerful contrast, a
high-performance Dolby Vision-compatible 4K Blu-ray player, two uncompromising sets of headphones, and a $350 soundbase (not soundbar) that is so good it’ll blow your mind. Read on but don’t just stop here. Check out our Top Picks page for many more recommendations.
Sound & Vision Top Picks for the month of June include two TVs — one a 4K OLED that delivers breathtaking images, the other a super-bright LCD set that costs $1,500 less — a $500 soundbar that’s does a lot more than just improve movie sound, and a pair of tower speakers from a legendary name in audio that can be had for five hundred bucks.
When it comes to great gear we can recommend without reservation, speakers were the name of the game in March, which brought us one of the most versatile preamps we’ve seen and three speaker systems: a high-performance wireless model audiophiles will appreciate, a state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos-enabled “immersive sound” setup from one of Britain’s top speaker companies, and a modest but very good sounding home theater package from a respected American brand that can be had for less than a grand.
In just the past couple of weeks, efforts to curb the coronoavirus pandemic has up-ended the lives of millions of people across the globe. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the steady flow of Top Pick-worthy gear that’s essential to establishing a home entertainment sanctuary. From a state-of-the-art DVR from TiVo, the company that helped pioneer and perfect the category 20 years ago, to a compact subwoofer that will shock you with its visceral precision, there’s something to ignite everyone’s AV imagination. As we head into April with a whole new set of expectations about daily life, stay healthy and let us know how you’re spending your newfound “leisure” time while we wait for those dark clouds to lift.
What’s not to like about an $800 THX-certified subwoofer? Or how about a set of comfy planar-magnetic headphones that get the job done and then some for only 500 bucks? Add to this an integrated amplifier for the 21st Century, a great sounding home theater speaker system that trades cosmetics for performance, plus a faux-4K projector that’ll convince you you’re watching true 4K, and you have a far-flung batch of exemplary gear that screams for attention. Read on and, please, try not to drool.