Leslie Shapiro

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Grace Notes
Goldilocks and the Three Chairs
Leslie Shapiro  |  Feb 24, 2014
Life is good. Having just moved into a house with a room for a dedicated home theater, it was time to get set up. More to the point, time for shopping. Usually, the last thing I want to do is to buy furniture, but the search for the perfect chairs for my home theater became my quest. Seeking perfection, I pored over furniture catalogs, websites and scoured any furniture in my path. A woman’s home theater is her castle, right? I already had furnished my girl-cave, I mean home office, and the A/V room, although last on the decorating list, was in my mind, the most crucial.

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Grace Notes
Epic, or Epic Fail?
Leslie Shapiro  |  Feb 09, 2014
Live TV is one of the most anxiety-inducing tasks facing artists, producers, and engineers, not to mention corporate and political types. In the past two weeks, the NFL’s cash cow, the Super Bowl on Fox and Russia’s pride and joy, the Olympic’s Opening Ceremonies on NBC tried their darndest to impress the world. Both the NFL and Russia took extreme precautions to ensure a flawless show. But in the end, the best way to wow the crowd is to fake it.

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Bluetooth Speaker Reviews
Soundmatters DASHa: A Kindle-Specific Bluetooth Speaker
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 26, 2014
As a non-iPhone user, the preponderance of iPod-ready devices gets a bit old. I’m over it. So it was a welcome relief when Soundmatters announced the DASHa, a Kindle-ready version of their very popular (and rightly so) DASH7 Bluetooth speaker. The DASHa is “Certified Made for Kindle” and it only comes in a matte black finish that matches the Kindle. It’s currently only available through Amazon, although other Kindle distributors might be added. It is compatible with Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire HDX.

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Headphone ReviewsGrace Notes
Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear Headphone
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 20, 2014
The new Sennheiser Momentum On-Ear headphone takes everything I loved about the original Momentum over-ear headphone and puts it in a smaller, infinitely more stylish and affordable package. Coming in a range of colors, and at a lower price, this headphone retains the sound quality and voice of the original but makes it more accessible to more people.

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CES 2014
Edifier International’s Spinnaker Speakers Set Sail at CES
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 10, 2014
Take a look at these speakers. Although Edifier has named it the Spinnaker, I can’t decide if they look like sails or a pair of devil’s horns, especially when I checked out the beautiful burgundy-colored ones. The Spinnaker is available in this lush color, or a more standard black.

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CES 2014
Bem Wireless Lights up the Party and Brings Sound on the Go
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 10, 2014
Everyone at CES tries to add a bit of flair to their booths to get people to stop in. bem wireless didn’t have to do much - their new Party Block speaker brings its own flair. Flashing a rainbow of colors, this is a powerful poolside partner.

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CES 2014
The Peerless-AV Outdoor TV Brings Entertainment To the Extreme
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 10, 2014
When wandering around the convention floor gets overwhelming, it’s always interesting to head over to the LVH (aka The Old Las Vegas Hilton) to check out the smaller booths and hospitality suites. It’s quieter, and the food is usually better. That’s where I found Peerless-AV demonstrating their latest product release, the Peerless-AV 47” Ciil Outdoor TV, designed for consumers. They also have a line of commercial products.

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CES 2014
The Questionably-Named, Award-Winning speeCup adds Siri/S Voice Commands and Gesture Control
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 09, 2014
Portable Bluetooth speakers seem to be multiplying like bunnies here at CES, so it must take something very special to earn a CES 2014 Innovations Award. The speeCup managed to break through the clutter with a really great set of features, and a design that’s just begging to be in a cupholder on your next road trip or out on a bike ride. In fact, I’m dying to get home and try this one on my beach cruiser.

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CES 2014
The iUi Design Bass Jumper takes Sound to New Heights
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 09, 2014
iUi Design’s Bass Jumper is an adorable little speaker designed to clip onto a backpack or parachute pack ready to leap off any building, antenna, span, or earth - the four elements that make up B.A.S.E. Jumping. A rather clever play on words, don’t you think?

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CES 2014
Cerwin-Vega expands the XD Desktop Series with Classic Looks and Sound
Leslie Shapiro  |  Jan 09, 2014
Stopping into the Gibson tent at CES was like stepping back in time - back to when speakers looked like speakers and had full, balanced sound. The main CES show floor was full of tiny earbuds and tons of tinny portable wireless speakers, but here in the tent, Cerwin-Vega was showing off their new line of active desktop speakers, and I was glad I stopped by.

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