Scott Wilkinson

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The Big Picture
What Did You Think of the Oscars?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 09, 2010

On Sunday, March 7, the 2010 Academy Awards were handed out at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California, and like 41.3 million other viewers around the world (including 3.1 million New York Cablevision subscribers who almost didn't get to see it due to a dispute with ABC), my wife and I watched the spectacle live as it unfolded only a few miles from our house. Well, okay, we didn't watch it live, exactly—we waited a couple of hours so we could skip through the commercials and acceptance speeches thanks to TiVo. So what I'd like to know from you is...

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Premiere Design
Avantgarde Trio G2 Speaker System
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 08, 2010

Horn-based speakers have been around since the earliest days of audio reproduction, and they continue to find favor among audiophiles today. Germany's <A href="http://www.avantgarde-acoustic.de/hornlautsprecher.php?lang=en">Avantgarde Acoustic</A> is no stranger to horn speakers, basing its business on them since 1991. At the top of the company's considerable lineup is the Trio, shown above in the Classico configuration with a massive Basshorn subwoofer.

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Audio Video News
3DTVs Now Available
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 05, 2010

Well, that didn't take long. Less than two months after 3DTVs were introduced at CES, some models are already available for consumers to purchase. The first out of the gate are Samsung's UN46C7000 and UN55C7000 LED edge-lit LCD TVs (shown here), which can be purchased at Amazon.com for $2339 and $2969, respectively, as well as a few other online retailers such as Crutchfield, which has the 46 in stock for $2400 and is taking pre-orders for the 55 for $3060. Soon to follow are some Panasonic plasmas, which are scheduled to go on sale at Best Buy on March 10, marking the first time that 3DTVs will be available at brick-and-mortar outlets.

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Premiere Design
Burmester 069 Belt-Drive CD Player
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 04, 2010

When I first heard about the flagship 069 CD player from German high-end manufacturer <A href="http://www.burmester.de/en/">Burmester Audio</A>, I was surprised to learn that it is belt driven. Of course, many LP turntables use belt drives, but I'd never heard of a CD player with such a mechanism, which is said to decouple the platter from the rest of the chassis, eliminating vibrations and allowing the data to be read with considerably higher precision and less jitter.

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Ask S&V
Soundbar, TV Setup, Multichannel Music
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 03, 2010
Ill-Advised Combo
I have a very large room with high ceilings and a loft, and I have a 5.1 system with satellite speakers. Will a Polk SurroundBar 360 work together with the speaker system I have, or does it work only by itself?
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Audio Video News
TiVo Premiere Debuts
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 03, 2010

TiVo is one of the most recognizable brands in all of consumer electronics&#151;so much so that the name of the company has become a verb in the popular lexicon, much like Xerox. After years of anticipation, TiVo today announced the next generation of its DVR platform&#151;Premiere and Premiere XL.

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Premiere Design
Tidal Sunray Tower Speaker
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 02, 2010

Most of the products on display at CES are new to the world market, but there are a few exceptions. For example, the Sunray speaker from Germany's <A href="http://tidal-audio.com/english/startenglish.htm">Tidal Audio</A> has been available for several years, but not in the USA&#151;until now. North American distributor <A href="http://www.aaudioimports.com">Aaudio Imports</A> used CES 2010 as the venue to introduce the Sunray to the American audiophile community.

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The Big Picture
Calling All Panny Owners
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 01, 2010

This whole Panasonic plasma black-level thing really bugs me, and I'm not alone. Shoppers are shying away from Panny plasmas because they just don't know if the black level will increase significantly after months or years of use, and frankly, neither do I. In an effort to learn as much as possible about the phenomenon, I turn to you, our readers, for help. To anyone who owns a 2008 or 2009 Panasonic plasma, I pose the following question:

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Audio Video News
Panasonic 2010 Product Showcase
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 26, 2010

Panasonic just finished a bi-coastal press briefing about its 2010 lineup of TVs, Blu-ray players, HTIBs (home-theater-in-a-box systems), and soundbars, but 3D was conspicuously absent. In fact, we were told that the company would be back in the late Spring or early Summer with more specifics about its 3D offerings.

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Premiere Design
McIntosh MVP881 Universal Blu-ray Player
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 25, 2010

Considering all the recent brouhaha about the $3500 Lexicon BD-30 actually being a rebranded Oppo BDP-83 (list price $500), I was suspicious when I saw a CES press release introducing the MVP881 universal disc player from <A href="http://www.mcintoshlabs.com">McIntosh Laboratory</A>. But then I read that the MVP881 uses the HQV Realta video processor, whereas the Oppo/Lexicon uses VRS from Anchor Bay, so it can't be another more-expensive knock-off.

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