Audioholics Featured Reviews & Articles

We recently installed a brand new car audio system as part of a "Pimp Mom's Car" feature in honor of Mother's Day. I mean, Mom had gotten her share of flowers and chocolates - why not go for something different this year? In writing the article and installing the system, there was a clear difference between the stock and finished stereo. It was "night and day", as the saying goes - and when we were done there was no doubt that the audio quality was vastly improved. So much, in fact, that we didn't understand why anyone would drive around with their cars' stock audio solution when, for just a small amount of money and effort, they could upgrade to something much better.

The Pioneer SE-MJ591 Stereo Headphones are, hands down, the best sounding earphones I've ever had the pleasure of testing. The imaging is phenomenal and rivals my experiences with $20k a pair electrostatic speakers. The sound quality is rich and vibrant and, if you are anything like me, you'll start rediscovering your music collection. They are designed for both critical listening and portability, making them perfect for multiple applications. While they'll reveal all the flaws in your poorly recorded/encoded music, they'll also reveal all the beauty in the high-quality recordings. I didn't find them very comfortable to wear, though you may feel differently. At $300, these aren't inexpensive headphones but, if you care about sound quality, you'll likely feel it is money well spent.

From a distance, the trailers and marketing materials announcing Dominic Sena's Season of the Witch indeed looked promising and perhaps beyond mildly entertaining – sure, the title shared the subhead of the 1980s franchise-breaker Halloween III: Season of the Witch, starring the great character actor Tom Atkins, but the clips of the film from pre-release shots and teasers suggested hyper-aggressive demons, CGI-endowed werewolves a la Van Helsing and some butt-kickin’ crusaders from the middle ages era doing justice the only way they know how. A couple of issues abounded, though – first of all, I didn’t see Nicolas Cage in this kind of film or role, but from what I gathered, he needed a quick payday due to some personal and financial issues. Alas, his performance in this justifies my reservations, as his dialogue delivery and overall presence just seems way out of place.

AirPlay has been a technology we've been extremely impressed by. If you're in the apple ecosystem it's bound to be a part of your life if you're buying current AV products and love the idea of streaming music wirelessly. Logitech just released their first AirPlay-enabled speaker, the Logitech UE Air Speaker. The UE is Logitech's abbreviation of a company they purchased back in '08, called Ultimate Ears. The Air Speaker, which looks like the business end of a Hammerhead shark, is pretty cool-looking, with minimal buttons and an integrated iPhone/iPod dock that retracts into the base when not used.

DISH released it's iOS and Android Remote Access apps some time ago. To be perfectly honest, they got the job done, but didn't offer much in the way of stability or efficient use of the platforms. Now, DISH has completely reengineered the iOS app to take advantage of the iPad's larger screen - and also to address multi-tasking and ease-of-use. The new (and still free) app improves the performance and enhances the on-screen dashboard so customers can easily find and watch their favorite programs. Customers can continue to watch live and recorded TV anytime, anywhere using the app in concert with an Internet-connected DISH receiver and a Sling Adapter. On the iPad, DISH offers the added ability to stream thousands of titles from an expansive on-demand library of Blockbuster @Home titles and premium networks.

Diablo 3 may be the most anticipated game of the decade, arriving 12 years after its predecessor - now it's finally here! The PC-only video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment continued its point-and-click, hack and slash fest last night at 12:01 AM PST. Die-hard fans either attended late night sale events or were downloading and installing the game at the stroke of midnight. Unfortunately for those of us on easterly time zones we had to wait considerably longer than midnight to actually play. Blizzard’s Battle.net servers hosting the online-only game were delivering an alarming Error 33, warning users that the game is not available yet. Considering Diablo 3 was first announced back in 2008 with no release date in site, a few more hours can’t hurt.

We work pretty closely with CEDIA, and lately, they've been taking a good hard look at some signals that indicate high resolution audio may be making a comeback. For years, MP3s and compressed digital files have been growing in popularity and dominance, but a taste for fidelity seems to be creeping back into the market now that the flat panel craze is winding down. It's not winding down because people no longer like flat panel TVs - it's just that everyone now has one... or two or three - in their home. Even vinyl has experienced a revival among the hardcore purists (although we don't believe vinyl is necessarily "pure" given the nature of the recording process). In any case, and awakening into the world of high fidelity audio means that consumers are waking up to realize there is more out there for them to experience and enjoy.

We try to stay on top of products that would appeal to the custom installer, and Furman's new line of "SmartSequencers" are a great addition to its Contractor Series products. There are two new products, the CN-1800S (15 amp capacity) and the CN-2400S (20 amp capacity). These SmartSequencers are designed for commercial A/V installers and they combine AC power distribution, protection, filtration, and sequential system power on/off. They also offer an optional compatibility with Panamax/Furman's BlueBOLT hosted remote power and energy management platform. The CN-1800S and CN-2400S feature Furman's SmartSequencing technology, which allows large and complex A/V systems to be powered on and off safely with the simple press of a button or turn of a key, even by nontechnical personnel.

The new Dolby Atmos platform one-ups the competition by adding a new frontier in sound - the upper hemisphere. Theaters featuring Dolby’s new Atmos technology will expand sound into discrete channels above the audience with a system that uses 64 speakers to completely envelop the audience. Dolby’s new technology could be just the next strike in a war of escalation reminiscent of razor blade ads that once one-upped each other with more blades for an even closer shave. Dolby Atmos, with 64 speakers, can create a ridiculously lifelike sonic experience with localized sound in front, beside, behind and now on top of the audience. Atmos will envelop you in such an extreme sonic experience the ticket-booth will have to hand out diapers with their 3D glasses.