Thomas J. Norton

Kenwood's new Sovereign line features three DVD players. The DV-5700, a 5-disc carousel model, is compatible with most consumer-format 5-inch optical discs: DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD, and MP3. SACD is the most obvious omission, but not much else is left out. There are onboard Dolby Digital and DTS decoders for that shrinking group of consumers without such decoders in their surround processors or A/V receivers.

<I>Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Estella Warren, Paul Giamatti. Directed by Tim Burton. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround (Spanish), THX. Two discs. 124 minutes (film). 2001. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 24543 02896. PG-13. $29.98.</I>

When Madrigal Audio Labs decided to get into the video-projector business, it was no surprise that they aimed right for the top. With its Mark Levinson, Proceed, and Revel lines, Madrigal is not exactly known for budget products, and the MP-9 makes an immediate statement that the company is as serious about high-end video as it is about high-end audio. Not so incidentally, the addition of a video line, Madrigal Imaging, now makes Madrigal dealers one-stop shops for state-of-the-art home theater.

When I reviewed the Revel Ultima loudspeaker system in SGHT's July/August 1998 issue, it was a challenge to come up with adequate superlatives&mdash;so the Ultima Gems, Voice, Embrace, and LE-1 subwoofer became our first Class AAA-rated speaker system. The Gems and Voice have been a frequent fixture in my reference home-theater system ever since, moved aside only when other speakers are being reviewed. The Revel Ultima surrounds and subwoofer were displaced for logistical reasons, not because of their performance, which was&mdash;and is&mdash;of reference quality. (Both&mdash;particularly the subwoofer, with its heavy, separate amplifier&mdash;were cumbersome to move in and out of position, a consideration important to a reviewer.)