A/V Product Reviews

Audioholics was on hand at Denver, Colorado's CEDIA 2019. In this video, Gene visits the Savant booth where the company unveiled a new product that lives at the intersection of high-performance home audio and digital home connectivity, designed for those who may not have thought much about complete home automation before. The Smart Audio soundbar may be loaded with network-connected features by Savant, but it also brings a true hi-fi pedigree with speaker designs by Cary Christie of Artison.

MartinLogan, famous for their curved panel electrostatic speakers, has recently revamped their Motion line of loudspeakers that use a more traditional enclosure. While the cabinet may be more conventional than their higher-tiered loudspeakers, the Motion speakers are still not without design distinctions that set them apart from other speakers in the same class. In for review today, we have the Motion 35XTi, the larger bookshelf speaker within the Motion series featuring a 6.5" woofer and AMT tweeter. Read our in-depth review to see what MartinLogan does to retain their signature electrostatic sound within a box-enclosure loudspeaker.

Monoprice has announced some new products that expand their Monolith THX speaker and subwoofer lines, and they look to be absolute beasts for the home theater market. Monoprice is launching their M-215 subwoofer with a 2kW amplifier and two high-excursion 15" drivers. Those who can handle these bruisers will be in home theater nirvana. Read our preview to see what monsters that the mad scientists at Monoprice have been cooking up in their laboratory. Be sure to watch our Youtube video for a surprise at the end ;)

MartinLogan has proved that you can get “flagship-class performance” from in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. The new Masterpiece CI Series speakers put on an incredible show at the 2019 CEDIA Expo. The star of the show was the flagship Statement 40XW line-source in-wall speaker ($20,000 each), which uses 40 drivers in a line array to deliver unfettered dynamics and realism. All five speakers in the Masterpiece CI Series use Folded Motion XT Obsidian tweeters and new unidirectional carbon fiber cone drivers. Read on to learn more and watch our YouTube Interview.

LG rocked the 2019 CEDIA Expo with a wide range of cool gear, including a transparent OLED display and the world’s first 8K OLED TV. The $30,000 LG Signature OLED88Z9 is now available, along with a 75-inch 8K NanoCell LED TV for $5,000. Also on display were premium sound bars co-developed with Meridian, and a new, more affordable 4K projector. Read on to learn more.

RBH Sound is on the move with three new products to further refine the affordable audiophile performance the brand is known for. The SI-831R is a new in-wall LCR speaker design that fits behind an acoustically transparent screen and features their new AMT driver borrowed from their SVTR flagship tower. A new 12" dual-driver subwoofer model# S-1212 only costs $999 (passive version) with some interesting plans for a powered version. RBH's PM-8 is their first-ever powered studio monitor, with a fully active network and DSP processing. Read on and be sure to watch our YouTube interview to learn more.

GoldenEar Technology announced their new ultra-high-performance compact bookshelf/stand-mount loudspeaker, the BRX, at the 2019 CEDIA EXPO. The goal of BRX was to create a gorgeous, luxuriously finished, ultra-compact loudspeaker which would incorporate the latest advanced technology developed for GoldenEar’s flagship tower speakers. Read on to see what makes this compact speaker so special and at $699/ea, quite affordable.

MartinLogan’s updated Motion Series loudspeakers sport a fresh new design while leaving the “proven performance” of the previous generation largely unchanged. There are three floor-standers, two stand-mount speakers, and two center channel speakers in the range, all featuring MartinLogan’s Folded Motion (AMT) tweeters and custom aluminum cone woofers. With prices ranging from $800/pair to $3,200/pair, will these redesigned speakers be the more affordable jewel in MartinLogan’s crown? Read on and be sure to watch our CEDIA 2019 Youtube video interview to learn more.

AudioControl has announced a pair of high-end preamp/processors and a trio of new A/V receivers at the 2019 CEDIA Expo. The Maestro Series processors and Concert Series AVRs now support Auro 3D, and feature flexible bass management capabilities and up to 16CH of processing. AudioControl calls these new products “the next generation of ultimate performance.” Read on and be sure to watch our YouTube interview with company owner Chris Kane to learn more about these product.

Theory Audio demonstrated their 9CH Soundbar Discrete speaker surround system powered by a 1U DSP tuned amplifier controller that delivered gut wrenching dynamics and sound redefining our expectations for this category of product. Check out our Youtube interview at CEDIA 2019 with company founder and engineer Paul Hales to learn about how he pulled this off.

Integra has announced three new “reference-grade” products at the CEDIA Expo. The flagship 11.2-channel DRC-R1.3 processor ($2,499) and DRX-R1.3 receiver ($3,299) promise high-end performance and best-in-class features. The 9.2-channel DRX-7.3 receiver ($2,399) now sits at the top of the company’s lineup of 9-channel receivers. All three new products support the 4K HDBaseT connectivity standard to deliver high-res video over ethernet. Read on and watch our YouTube video to learn more.

Monoprice has announced new products that expand their Monolith THX speaker lineup, and do they look to be absolute beasts for the home theater market. The Monolith tower speaker features four 6.5" bass drivers, a 2" silk dome midrange, and a 1" silk dome tweeter that also includes an optional 5.25" upfiring coaxial driver for Dolby Atmos. We absolutely loved the mini-tower Monoliths but they lacked bass by design. These Monolith towers appear to address that concern and promise to be real bruisers.

Pioneer's newest $3k Flagship receiver, the Elite SC-LX904 will be officially unveiled at CEDIA 2019 in Denver, Colorado which will garner quite a bit of news coverage from such a beefy receiver. Check out the specs on this monstrous 11.2 channel receiver and how they rate power under maximum load conditions. This is stuff we love to see. Klingons everywhere rejoice, that TiP warriors find this model to be with honor.

Polk Audio has announced an all-new flagship line of speakers called the Legend Series. There are six models in the series: two bookshelf speakers, two floor-standers, a center-channel speaker, and a height/elevation speaker for home theater use. The range-topping L800 SDA sells for $6k/pair and features a unique “Stereo Dimensional Array” to cancel out stereo interaural crosstalk and deliver immersive sound with precise imaging. Read on and watch our CEDIA 2019 Youtube interview video to learn how Polk has brought back legendary SDA technology.