Recent AV Gadget Reviews

Review: The craftsmanship of the Coobeetsa CCG-10DX guitar is in line with some of the master Luthier made guitars I’ve seen and played selling for much higher dollars.

Review: Mass Fidelity Relay Hi-Fi Wireless Receiver wants to convince you that "Bluetooth" and "high-quality audio" can be used in the same sentence. Let's explore it and find out.

DISH has a new product, the Winegard Pathway X2 portable satellite dish antenna. It's automatically self-pointing and you can connect it to two satellite receivers.

The DVDO Matrix6 is a 6 in, 2 out 4k switcher. This is a product that we consider to be inevitable. The DVDO Air3 is the first allowing full 1080p/60Hz wireless streaming and it supports MHL and 3D.

The Cambridge Audio Minx Xi is a wireless streaming box that has it all. Bluetooth? Yep. USB inputs? It's got two. Amps? Two into 40 watts (8 ohms). It is compatible with most formats. $899 MSRP.

The Sony HAP-Z1ES is a hi-rez media streamer that can upscale your music to 5.6MHz (DSD quality). Funny thing - they released two additional boxes that have more features and cost less. Go figure.

Now, I know that traditionally we cover audio and video stuff, but today I found something I particularly think you should know about. It's automation for your, well, cleansing needs.

Would you like to be able to control appliances in your home from anywhere in the world (as long as you had an Internet connection)? Panamax is betting you do with their BlueBOLT technology.

The IOGEAR GWHDMS52 Wireless 5x2 Matrix Switcher is basically a five in, two out HDMI switch. It allows you to display two full HD (3D, 60Hz) HD streams on two different displays, wirelessly

The Arcam rBlink Bluetooth music converter is a small but neat little box. It's a Bluetooth receiver that features a jitter removal circuit as well as a PCM 5102 24-bit digital to analogue converter.

Atlona had a number of exciting offerings at CEDIA this year, all of which involved HDBaseT. They introduced a wall plate and two switchers, one of them modular.

Review: The V-MODA BoomPro is a mic upgrade for any headphones with detachable cables that have a standard 3.5mm plug at the headphone. The BoomPro performed well and are recommended.

Preview: The TiVo Roamio will help you cut the cord with 4 tuners and 75 hours of HD recording. The Roamio Plus (150 hours) and Roamio Pro (450 hours) will upgrade your DVR w/6 tuners, stream, more.

The Leap Motion Controller is a touch-free motion controller for your Mac or PC. While I really like it, the Leap Motion is more of a curiosity than a necessity. At $80, it might be worth it to you.

Today we're reviewing the Astell&Kern AK100 32GB HD Music Player from iriver. If you think your iOS device or Android phone is a high quality music player, think again.

The NuForce Icon DAC isn't just a standalone DAC, it isn't just a preamp for your computer or Android phone, and it isn't just a headphone amplifier. It is all of these things for $325.

The Kaleidescape Cinema One media server has access to Kaleidescape's store, it's huge library of metadata, space for 100 Blu-rays, and more. The Kaleidescape Cinema One will retail for $3995.

This is a review of the Kimber Kable 8TC speaker cables. They measure, look and sound great.

The Swann HD PenCam Mini 720p Video Camera & Recorder is a ballpoint pen that's like a real-life high-tech spy camera that lets you record everything on the go-without anyone knowing. Cool and creepy.

The $99 PLAiR streaming stick can receive video and audio content from your PC, Mac, Android, or iOS device with a push of a button. But for how long before the networks block this workaround?

Yes, wall plates aren't the sexiest of HT products but the Sanus ELM806 in-wall cable management solution looks to be one of the most useful. For a $100 integrated, in-wall power run, it's pretty good

If you get the Otterbox Armor case for iPhone 4/4S/5 or the Galaxy S3 without understanding it, then you might be disappointed. I'll give you examples of why this case might, or might not be for you.

I'll just be honest-I can't explain what this thing is in 15 words or less. V-Moda invented these two things it's calling the Vamp Verza and Metallo. Basically it's a hi-fi amplifier, DAC, battery...

Looking like a squared-off hockey puck and featuring a completely upgraded interface, the new Roku 3 has an all-new Roku interface lets you glide through menu screens, quickly and access 750 channels.

When Western Digital (WD) proposed sending us their new My Book VelociRaptor Duo...Well, I asked how it differed from their Thunderbolt Duo. It actually has a pair of 10,000 RPM VelociRaptor drives.

It's not often that you get a chance to "pimp" your ride, so when Sony suggested we take a look at their newest ZR Series amplifier and their GTX speakers, we ran out and immediately located a victim.

The Aton DLA6 Six Zone Speaker Selector is a smart speaker selector device that impedance matches depending on the load it senses and allows you to connect up 6 zones of audio with just a 2CH amp.

Yamaha is continuing to expand its line of retro styled HiFi gear with the release of the CD-N500 Network CD Player. It's the first CD/network player combo that Yamaha has released this lineup.