Recent Home Theater Editorials
Are Aging Baby Boomers Spelling the Demise of Hi‑Fi Audio?
During COVID people spent money like water, but did audio companies learn anything from the post-pandemic AV recession? Will aging Baby Boomers embrace new technologies designed for younger consumers?
Am I an Audioholic?
Where am I now? It’s Friday night and I am in Clearwater Beach, Florida at the Audioholics party. I got to meet several of the vendors I have purchased from. It’s really great to meet the people who …
2007 State of the CE Union Party Event Itinerary
The Audioholics 9th Annual State of the CE Union Event is upon us. We wanted to take the time to summarize the itinerary for the next few days during our event. Make sure you bring a printout of your …
Can Halo 3 Save XBOX 360?
According to several news sources, Microsoft Corp's "Halo 3" video game set an opening-day U.S. sales record of $170 million, outdoing any video game or movie debut and giving the XBOX 360’s …
AVRant #19: What's the Best System You've Ever Heard?
This week is a hodgepodge of information. Tom and Dina start off talking about movies which brings up a pet peeve of Tom's: buying movies simply because of good sound. Tom touches on how to solve …
Audioholics Party Update ‑ Registration Deadline in 5 Days!
The registration deadline of September 30th for our 9th Annual State of the CE Union Event/Party is drawing near. With only 5 days remaining to register and limited seating for our Ballroom Dining …
2007 CEDIA Demo Overview
There are certain things in life you can count on. Death, taxes, and yes, the ubiquitous CEDIA demos. It seems everywhere you look, there is a demo happening in a booth on the show floor. Flying …
Why going to the Movies is Still Better Than Home Theater
There is no doubt in my mind that just about any decent home theater system I assemble, using some of the better equipment on the market today, rivals most of the local Cineplex’s (IMAX and Disney …
Ask AVRant #6: HDMI and Video Processing
J and Tom discuss the most confusing of all topics - HDMI. 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.3a… wow, all those different standards in just a few years? Which is the best? Should you upgrade? Should you let your …
Ask AVRant #5: Clipage and Ohmage
J and Tom start out on Macs, continue on to swinging dead cats at J’s place, touch on positive reviews, on to how all Clarke’s are related, and end on J’s new Apple inspired house. Clearly, we are …
CEDIA 2007 Show Report & Wrap Up
Like the past times we've covered CEDIA, this one was another great show. It seems every year the show gets more popular with this years largest turnout with over 29,000 attendees. Incidentally this …
My Traveling Woes of CEDIA
From donut eating cops on the freeway, to moody flight attendants and tough airport security, I dodged the arrows and made it to the promise land. In my travels, I endured starvation, nausea and …
CEDIA ‑ Got My NERDAR Engaged
After CEDIA, my NERDAR needs new batteries. It wasn’t like I didn’t expect it. I went to CEDIA knowing full well what I was in for. First of all, I was outnumbered by men THOUSANDS to one. I was also …
AVRant CEDIA 2007 Day 1: What time is it in Dina‑land?
Think we're not doing anything at CEDIA? WRONG! Check out our show page for coverage plus Dina and Tom did a Podcast about the first day coverage. Listen in to hear some of CEDIA's coolest (and …
AVRant #18: AV Rant: The Definitive, Ultimate, Director's Cut Edition
Dina and Tom jump right in to what the new 1080p formats mean for old movies, Dina brings up people that are actually geekier than Tom, Tom makes an official AVRant announcement, Dina rants against …
Blu‑ray's Dirty Little Secret
So, after a long Blu-ray disc (BD) release hiatus by Fox and MGM, how does one celebrate the recent press release that new titles are coming? Why, one celebrates by buying one of these studios’ …
AVRant #17: It's a Sack of Love
How manufacturers react to some reviews and think consumers are idiots, how to get your questions answered quickly on an AV forum, and whether or not you need to buy your sub from the same …
AVRant #16: CEDIA, Shootouts, and Wireless Speakers
Tom and Dina unveil their plans for CEDIA (geeks beware!) plus Tom discusses the bookshelf speaker shootout and the Soundolier duo speaker lamp review. Dina ponders a little cosplay and Tom readily …
But I Already HAVE a DVD Player!
I've stayed out of the high def format debate mostly because of apathy. I honestly don't care. I don't own a player, have no real desire to run out and buy one, and I know a lot of people that feel …
Manufacturer Review Response Form Letter
In an effort to facilitate the review process, the Audioholics staff has come up with a form letter that Manufacturers can use to reply to a review during any point of the review process. …
AVRant #15: Freaky Penguins Must Die
Tom and Dina catch up on their mini-movie reviews (hence the title of the episode). Tom reveals how his evil son broke his sub (guess how happy he is about that?). They discuss man caves, what can go …
AVRant #14: Release the Geek
Kurt takes a stab at the correct Denon pronunciation which leads into a discussion of other alternate pronunciations. Bobmac's rant comes up (Tom talks about his mom), Tom challenges you to let your …
Ask AVRant #4: What does OCD stand for again?
Because of unforeseen problems (i.e. it’s Dina’s fault) the regularly scheduled podcast will be delayed. Instead, we’ll be bringing you an episode of Ask AVRant. Eric wants to know about chipsets, …
AVRant #13: Whatever you need, Dina is here
What do you do with neighbors who don't understand the unmitigated glory that is a 17Hz test tone? How dirty is your local Cineplex? What's it like going from a big TV back to a small one? Does …
MP3s Made Me Dumb
That isn’t to say that my IQ has in any way suffered at the hands of the miracles of algorithmic digital compression, in some ways it’s even quite the contrary. The problem isn’t that my overall …
Is HD DVD Trying to Lose?
As many of you know I have been somewhat of a critic of the high definition DVD format war. I have never understood how apparent shortsightedness and desire for short-term corporate licensing profits …
AVRant #12: Putting your peg leg down
Arrg matie! It's a pirate show today (not really). It is listener question day as Dina and Tom discuss audio elitism including a long discussion on price points and what are some of Tom's review …
AVRant #11: The Family That Kills Together, Stays Together
Dina reveals her deep and unnatural love for Mario Bros, sniping, and Marky Mark. We discuss video games, their ratings, the target audience, and how Tom thinks you should get out of the video game …
AVRant #10: Tom is a Badass and Dina is Evil
Dina and Tom finish their discussion of her undercover trip to Best Buy. This one is all about cables and power. John could have suggested using the analogue inputs for high def audio but that was …