Qobuz Redux

Three years ago, French upstarts Qobuz made quite a splash upon entering the U.S. streaming market. What has happened with the high-res service in the interim?

Beethoven, Regolith, and You

The year is 1969. I am sitting in front of my family's TV watching live black-and-white video from the moon. High-definition TV is still science fiction, but in the blurry picture I can see Neil Armstrong descend the ladder and step onto the lunar surface.

Just Add Music

Q ACOUSTICS Q ACTIVE 200 LOUDSPEAKER

Blue Heaven

BLUESOUND NODE STREAMING DAC

The Power Station

True story. My very first hi-fi system featured a Rotel integrated amplifier—if memory serves, a model RA-20 of some 20 watts per channel.

XGIMI – A Potent Portable

Even as TVs grow ever-larger, the projector category continues to be an active one, with more recent designs like ultra-short throw models giving viewers an alternative to room-dominating hangfrom-ceiling setups.

A Classic Reimagined

KLH model five loudspeaker

Instant Atmos

KLIPSCH’S NEW Cinema series soundbars are the latest effort of an iconic, 75-year-old speaker maker to push new performance barriers while delivering a product that is quintessential, well, Klipsch.

MEDIA ROOM INSIDER: SENECA CINEMA

Do-It-Yourself Theater with a Twist

LCD Reloaded

IN 2020, Sound & Vision tested Samsung’s 65-inch Q90T series TV, an LCD model that lacked some of the features and refinements found in the company’s flagship sets from the previous year.

OLED For Less

SONY’S NEW XR-65A80J OLED TV isn’t a member of the company’s Master Series—that designation belongs to its XR-A90J OLED models, which are spec’d to deliver higher brightness than the XR-A80J sets. And while we haven’t yet tested those pricier Sony OLEDs, the XR-65A80J is far from being a second-class citizen. Read on to find out why.

Rack Your World

IF YOU’RE A boomer who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s like I did, you’ll remember that no home was complete unless it had a stereo system in the living room.

SPATIAL AUDIO RELATIONS

Ears-on with Apple Music’s new Atmos offerings

THX Onyx DAC/ Headphone Amplifier

THX Does High-Res Audio

Synchrony Redux

PSB SPEAKERS was founded by Paul Barton in 1972. While the brand has long been part of the Canada-based Lenbrook Group, which also includes NAD and Bluesound, Barton began as and remains PSB’s chief designer, cook, bottle washer, and one of the most respected speaker authorities in the industry. His work, including the new Synchrony T600 under review here, has long made use of the Canadian National Research Council’s (NRC) audio testing facilities, including its anechoic chamber.

Over the Moon

SIMAUDIO, an audio manufacturer located in Boucherville, Quebec, is well-known for both the build quality of its products and the whopping ten-year warranty it offers. Many of the company’s wares are decidedly high-end—the 230-pound Moon 888 monoblock amplifier ($118,888 per pair), which is rated to output a massive 888 watts at 8 ohms and double that down to 1,776 watts at 4 ohms, for example.

A Guide To Projection Screens

Screens can be a near-equal partner with your projector in achieving theater-quality (or better!) images. Here are the key things you need to consider when shopping for a projection screen.

Two Decades With Kaleidescape

The luxury video business is hard. Don’t believe me? Consider companies like Pioneer, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Runco, Escient, and ReQuest. And those are just a few brands that have either exited that market or no longer exist.

THE MAKING OF ALL THINGS MUST PASS

A day-by-day account of the recording of George Harrison’s epic first solo album as it sees a 50th anniversary remix and deluxe edition release.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil

STEWART HARMONY G2 ACOUSTICALLY TRANSPARENT SCREEN

Vizio V21d-J8 Soundbar

Sound Bargain

What is My Stereo's Gender?

Readers will recall, distressingly, that I have tried their patience on just about every topic that marginally relates to audio. LP grooves, CD bumps, flat response, boomy bass, warm recordings, cold binary bits—I have waxed philosophically on all of them. Which bring us to today’s audio topic: gender.

The Big Short

EPV SCREENS DARKSTAR UST 2 EFINITY PROJECTION SCREEN

Roku Streambar Pro

A Sound Streaming Solution

Qwest for Fire

Qwest TV steps outside the streaming mainstream to offer up a wider swath of multicultural live concert and documentary selections.

KEF MUSIC LOUNGE THEATER: A THX CERTIFIED OASIS

The speaker maker’s appointment-only New Jersey demonstration theater combines comfort with state-of-the-art gear and acoustic treatments

Faceoff - 10 Wire-Free Bud Options That Block Noise So You Can Hear Music

Noise-canceling true wireless earbuds

A Garden Oasis in The Heart of Pittsburgh

This custom-installed outdoor A/V system sets the mood for parties, sports, or just chilling out and enjoying a City of Bridges sunset

The Wireless Meta-verse

WE LIVE now in the wireless world, and the major loudspeaker makers have been quick to embrace it with serious-performance, near-full-range designs. But each seems to have a different idea of what a “wireless speaker” should entail. Some simply connect to an existing component stack via a supplied small wireless transmitter. Others incorporate the whole smart-speaker thang, with full multiroom audio system and Alexa-Google-Siri voice control integration.

Masterclass Acts

The Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp changed its tune during the pandemic from offering in-person seminars with stars to streaming Masterclass sessions. In many ways, the shift broadened the scope of what the Camp has to offer.