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Audioholics Featured Reviews & Articles
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The RBH Sound Signature 8300-SE/R is a wonderfully lush set of loudspeakers that are precise and tight with substantial depth and clarity that is unrivaled regardless of price. Highly recommended.
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It's an Oppo BDP-83. Normally we'd launch into a statement like this with more tact. At the end of the day, though, the Lexicon BD-30 is still an Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player... with a $3000 premium.
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Recent Professional Reviews, Articles and News
I'm a big fan of LED TVs when they are done right – and Vizio seems to really be getting the hang of this new technology. Their latest heavy hitter, the VF551XVT, has a very consistent brightness uniformity – something that is lacking in many of the new LCD-backlit displays. It also reproduces blacks with an uncanny darkness that all but mimics the drool-inspiring qualities of much-heralded plasma displays. For just over $2000, this television is well above average in its value and something that will bring years of quality enjoyment to many homes.
The Aperion Bravus 10D is an attractive, potent little subwoofer at a reasonable price. It certainly doesn't have the output and extension of its larger peers but that’s a tradeoff one must live with if they want a small box to better blend into their room décor. In that aspect the Bravus 10D is all aces. Given the diminutive size of the 10D, it would be very easy to place two of these in most family rooms without drawing much attention to them. There should be no excuses for NOT setting up dual subs in your theater room. Aperion Audio makes this very easy for you with their small, potent Bravus offerings.
It's been almost 5 years since the debut of the PT-7010A pre-processor from Sherbourn Technologies. Since then, the company has been mostly focused on selling its existing line of multi-channel amplifiers for the custom install market. Now the CE channel manufacturer is getting back into the home theater game with its updated PT-7020A preamplifier/processor. The PT-7020A is a 7-channel A/V processor which includes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA decoding, 5 HDMI 1.3a inputs and RS-232 control. Upon closer inspection it seems to be heavily based on the new Emotiva UMC-1.
The new Pioneer VSX-1020-K has all the functionality of the $399 VSX-920-K with the addition of a GUI, on-screen album art, a powered Zone 2, improved MCACC, Internet radio, iPhone control, and Sound Retriever AIR. Within that list there are functional improvements, control upgrades, and feature additions that should have a wide appeal. We think that the new VSX-1020-K will be one of the hottest sellers for Pioneer.
Redbox, who has over 22,400 kiosks across the country is getting ready to release Blu-ray Discs to consumers in a nation-wide push for Blu-ray. Blu-ray Discs will be available in a majority of Redbox kiosks by July. While the details are still being released, Redbox has affirmed the obvious: Blu-ray won't be replacing DVDs, merely supplementing them. This would potentially affect selection at each location since the kiosks have a fixed amount of rentals available. There is, however, no information (yet) on whether the stock and inventory schedules will be changed to keep up with the change. In addition, according to their CEO, a majority of Redbox kiosks are not currently full, so there’s space to add Blu-ray titles without removing any DVDs currently available.
The Pioneer VSX-920-K shares a lot of the features with the two lower priced receivers. Why shouldn't it? They offer a great foundation. With four 3-D ready HDMI 1.4 inputs, 110 watts per channel, and iPhone Certification, there is lot to like. The VSX-920-K introduces two more channels of amplification (to 7.1) that you can use to power your Dolby ProLogic IIz height channels, PQLS for enhanced two-channel audio, and Anchor Bay powered 1080p upconversion. Is it worth $399? We definitely think so.
The owners of this 22-by-18-foot theater had no intention of updating their 1970s-style basement rec room. They were going to leave it as is, and focus their remodeling efforts on main living areas of the house. Their remodeling plan would include adding a Control4 control system to automate the lights and thermostats, and spread music and video to speakers and TVs throughout the house. The contractors and interior designers hired for the job couldn’t help but bring up the outdated rec room, though.
The VSX-820-K is the next in line from the electronics giant and comes in at just under $300. The question we had was what more you could expect for the $70 premium over the 520-K. How about an extra HDMI input, an on-screen display, MCACC auto system setup, and iPhone certification? Yeah, we were surprised too.
HDMI Cable Speed & Features Explained
Kurt Denke
— last modified March 10, 2010 10:03
Considering that an HDMI cable is, at bottom, nothing more than an arrangement of wire, foil and plastic, the purchase of HDMI cable has become awfully confusing. Everywhere one turns, there are all sorts of specification version numbers being tossed around, claims about HDMI cable "speed," and representations about support for 3D, 2K by 4K video, 1080p, Deep Color, and a host of other features. What does it all mean? Read this article to separate the fact from fiction.
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