Mark Fleischmann

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AV Receiver Reviews
Marantz SR5003 A/V Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 09, 2009
Price: $800 At A Glance: New rounded front panel is borrowed from higher-end gear • Audyssey MultEQ auto setup and room EQ • Audio circuits on separate circuit board

The Middle Kid Syndrome

As the third child in a series of four, I know what it’s like to be in between. My older siblings arrived a decade before I did and towered over me with their adult-like achievements. They had summer jobs, bought Volkswagen Beetles, headed off to college, and—most fatefully, I now recognize—turned me on to rock ’n’ roll. I was the pampered baby for a few years until my younger sibling arrived and, predictably, absorbed more of my mother’s time. This made me terribly jealous.

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Audio Video News
Will EchoStar Lunge for Sirius XM?
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 09, 2009
EchoStar, the owner of the Dish Network, is accumulating debt from the recently merged Sirius XM Satellite Radio Inc., according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper speculates that this "could be the first salvo in an attempt to take control of the battered company," either inside or outside of bankruptcy.
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Audio Video News
No More Pioneer DTVs? Say It Ain't So!
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 09, 2009
Pioneer is considering retreating from its status as the manufacturer of some of the world's best flat-panel DTVs.
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Audio Video News
Networks to Keep Analog Until Bitter End
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 06, 2009
Several major TV networks have announced that they plan for their owned affiliate stations to keep analog signals on the airwaves until the final deadline in June.
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Audio Video News
It's Official: DTV Transition Botched
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 04, 2009
The on-again, off-again effort to delay the DTV transition from February 17 to June 12 has overcome its biggest obstacle. It originated with the Obama team, then got approved by the Senate, voted down by the House of Representatives, re-approved by the Senate, and today, finally passed by the House in a 264-158 vote. The legislation now goes to President Obama who is expected to sign it.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Onkyo TX-SR806 A/V Receiver
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 02, 2009
Price: $1,099 At A Glance: Onkyo’s first THX Ultra2 Plus–certified AVR • New THX and Audyssey algorithms • Five HDMI 1.3 inputs • Faroudja DCDi video

With Two Secret Sauces

When I compare the Onkyo TX-SR806 receiver with last year’s Onkyo crop, I see incremental but significant improvements. The most notable ones are licensed technologies from THX and Audyssey (more on them soon). But when I compare this product with the earliest A/V receivers (and in the process, look back on myself as I was then), I actually get dizzy.

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Audio Video News
Dolby and DTS Get High
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 30, 2009
Dolby and DTS are both gearing up to take surround sound to the next step in its evolution. Both are preparing to add height channels to their existing surround standards.
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Audio Video News
House Delays DTV Transition Delay
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 29, 2009
The House of Representatives voted yesterday to keep the DTV transition running on schedule, defeating legislation that would have allowed some stations to delay the transition from February 17 to June 12. Though the measure had passed the Senate, it did not attract the two-thirds majority required to pass the House. Therefore all TV stations will have to stop transmitting analog signals, using digital only, after February 17--unless the bill's proponents try again.
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Audio Video News
HDTVs Abundant, HDTV Not
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 28, 2009
First the good news: More than 39 million U.S. households have HDTVs. Now the bad news: Only 22 million of them have a source of high-def programming, leaving the other 17 million out in the standard-def cold.
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Audio Video News
Senate Partly Delays DTV Transition
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 27, 2009
The drive to delay the DTV transition cleared the Senate last night. However, the legislation now has a new twist--the delay is voluntary.
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