Technology
Sound & Vision
Control Central
ANY NEW surround sound processor circa-2021 is bound to have a heap of demands placed upon it. Along with support for the latest immersive audio formats—Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, etc.—there’s music streaming, Auto EQ/room correction, and HDMI video switching of the latest 4K/ high dynamic range video formats.
10 min |
April - May 2021
Sound & Vision
How Napoleon Bonaparte Invented the Compact Disc
You can admit it. You are intrigued. Of course, it can’t be true. But is it purely nonsensical? Is it a “pigs can fly” kind of declaration? Or is there someway, somehow, a grain of truth in it? And if that’s the case, how on earth could you conceivably connect the dots between the Little Corporal and the Compact Disc?
3 min |
April - May 2021
Sound & Vision
Bass is the Place
AS SOMEONE who appreciates the benefit deep bass brings to music and movie soundtracks, I’ve come to accept that having a box the size of a small refrigerator in my living room is a reality of life I need to contend with.
5 min |
April - May 2021
Sound & Vision
The World Of Raised By Wolves
A behind-the-scenes look at director Ridley’s Scott’s HBO Max sci-fi series
10+ min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
Headphones
Headphones
1 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
Wireless Speakers
Wireless Speakers
1 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
Subwoofers
Subwoofers
1 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
Extras
Extras
1 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
The Rolling Stones: Goats Head Soup Super Deluxe Edition
Show of hands, please—how many of you rate August 1973’s Goats Head Soup as your favorite Rolling Stones album? Anyone? No? Can’t say I blame you.
3 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
Home electronics – Buy Once, Cry Once
PART 2. In my previous column (Buy Once, Cry Once), I considered areas in your A/V budget where you should consider splurging when building a system. The categories I listed—projection screens, amplifiers, speakers—are ones that can provide years of enjoyment, but don’t see regular or major upgrades. I also covered categories like subwoofers that have a real impact on a system’s overall performance, and ones like pre-wiring that can strongly affect a system’s future serviceability.
4 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
Supersized TV
Remember the rear-projection TV (RPTV)? RPTVs were big, boxy contraptions housing a projector that beamed an image at the rear of a screen mounted on the set’s front surface.
10+ min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
Fractured Fairy Tales
Okay, children! Time for a bedtime story! Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. While walking through the forest, she came upon a quaint little village. In that village, there were three ways to watch movies.
3 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
The Sound of Silver
THERE ARE quite literally hundreds of small, two-way loudspeakers you can buy priced from under $100 to well north of $10,000 per pair.
6 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
Qello Hooray
Qello seeks to corner the market on streaming concerts and music documentaries. Do they have enough diverse material in their coffers to satisfy our consumptive hunger for content?
4 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
New Bronze Age
BRITAIN-BASED Monitor Audio offers a wide range of loudspeakers at prices spanning from the bargain basement up to the penthouse that are cleverly named for a variety of metals: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze.
10+ min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
Class-D-elightful
Whether you fall into the “all well-designed amps sound the same when used within their limits” camp or the “amp selection is critical” army of true believers, it’s arguable that prior to the turn of the millennium amps designed for high-performance audio had fallen into a rut.
9 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
The Next Generation
The big car companies refresh their lineups on a pretty regular schedule. Honda, for example, brings out all-new versions of its models every four to five years, and it makes smaller upgrades and improvements in the years between the big changes.
9 min |
February - March 2021
Sound & Vision
John Lennon Reimagined
The Making of Gimme Some Truth. The Ultimate Mixes
10+ min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
The 300 Spartans - Ultra HD Blu-ray
Inspired by the 1962 Cinemascope epic The 300 Spartans that he saw as a lad, writer/artist Frank Miller would go on to create the five-issue graphic novel 300, a wildly stylized, heavily fictionalized account of the Battle of Thermopylae.
3 min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
Meet the New Boss
VPL-VW885ES, a 4K LCOS projector with a laser light engine
10+ min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
JVC Projector Theater Optimizer Function
JVC announced a firmware update for its native 4K D-ILA projectors that delivered true frame adaptive HDR tone mapping to the lineup.
10 min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
Ditching DLNA
HIGH END- PROJECTORS
4 min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
Buy Once, Cry Once
Buy once, cry once. You might be familiar with that old adage, which is used to describe the purchase of a high-cost item that entails upfront financial “pain,” but with no need to buy again in the future due to the superior craftsmanship and build quality. It’s often associated with tools and watches but works quite well for A/V gear.
4 min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
Turn It up To 11.2
DENON AVR-X6700H 11.2-CHANNEL A/V RECEIVER
10+ min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
The Road to Utopia
FOCAL CHORA 826-D SPEAKER SYSTEM
9 min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
The Rapture of the Rumble
Because everything must be controversial, I am going to be controversial. This column discusses God, politics, climate change, and Enzo Ferrari. Furthermore, if it causes lightning to strike you, so be it.
3 min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
Virtually There
With large-scale live events still in a holding pattern, attending VR and AR concerts online could be the next best bet for diehard concertgoers.
4 min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
DISTRICT 9 - ULTRA HD BLU-RAY
DISTRICT 9 rises above its disparate components—there are multiple strong influences, everything from Alien Nation to the faux-documentary feel of The Office—to deliver a socially resonant story that’s even more relevant a decade after its release.
2 min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
GHOST IN THE SHELL - ULTRA HD BLU-RAY
MAMORO OSHII’S beautiful and unsettling anime film, Ghost in the Shell, has been released on Ultra HD Blu-ray to celebrate its 25 th anniversary.
1 min |
December 2020 - January 2021
Sound & Vision
Beryllium Dreams
Revel Performabe surround speaker system
10+ min |