A/V Product Reviews

One of my favorite pastimes is sharing "movie nights" with my friends. Typically, "movie nights" have essentially been small gatherings where some of our friends came over and congregated in front of the big screen TV to watch the latest DVD release. These evenings are an opportunity to share what is a pretty impressive sound system with others - after all, what good is a great surround sound system if it's coveted in one's own home? Fast forward to this review period and the recent addition of the Yamaha LPX-510 3-chip LCD projector into my home theater system. With the addition of the 3-chip LCD projector, "Movie Nights" just got a whole lot more crowded.

I'm a fairly new parent, my son being just 16 months old at the time of this review. Car trips aren't the same as they used to be and on the recommendation of some of our relatives we decided to investigate portable DVD players. Being a research hog I was determined to locate a system that would work well in the car and come with everything I needed to provide entertainment for my son on long trips from Myrtle Beach to Central Florida . This isn't as easy as it seems. While many portable DVD systems come with some of the necessary accessories, very few come with everything we were looking for.

AViC's Speaker Cable 11 is certainly an interesting offering. Its shiny silver wrapping reminds me of a disco-tech style look from Saturday Night Fever or the evil Cylons from Battlestar Galactica. They were cool looking and could certainly dress up any high end system quite nicely. Their banana connectors fit snugly and they appeared to have no problems making a nice solid connection with several brands of speakers that I tried them out on. Overall, we found the AViC Speaker Cable 11 to be attractive, fairly well measured and not too caught up in snake oil hype.

Make no mistake however, that the RE Designs Audio SCPA 1 delivers unparalleled audio performance and adjustable channel trim precision that has no equal in this capacity. It has little to no place in consumer audio, but will likely serve a professional audio installation at a recording studio or equivalent environment requiring these attributes. For the diehard audiophile and purist at heart whose sole objective is to build a dedicated multi channel audio system without all the bells and whistles, with the utmost accuracy in calibration and noise suppression, the RE Designs Audio SCPA 1 may be the product of choice.

Ever have one of those hot summer days where you jump in your car, rush to turn on the air conditioner, fire up your audio system to get your mind off the heat only to find your CD storage case plastic pouches have glued skin tight to your CDs? I certainly can recall more than one instance of this and I have the smudged Pat Metheny CDs to prove it. I remember saying to myself "Why can’t someone design a better CD storage case?" Well thankfully they did, and that someone is Slappa.

The Harmony H688 was going to provide a new experience in that the application programming interface is online and the remote is arranged by activity, rather than by device. This review details the Harmony online application system as well as some pitfalls to watch out for when using it to control multiple (and hopefully typical) devices in your home theater system.

The Gefen USB Switcher KVM Switch is an incredibly useful tool for anyone who has two computers in close proximity. It can save lots of time and money not to mention hassle. I left the Mac scene around 2001 for the world of build-it-yourself PCs that cost less than $500 – but I cannot get myself to ditch the Mac for several reasons. As the Editor of the largest home theater review website I have to be sure that our pages, articles and designs look good on both platforms. I also admit that I like venturing into the world of Mac OS X from time to time for a refreshing (but fortunately no longer superior) alternative to the Windows world. The only way to make this transition is via physically moving from one PC to another – or by employing a KVM (keyboard, video & mouse) switch.

There is quite a buzz building about the Anthem / Sonic Frontiers latest addition to the Home Theater A/V SSP (Surround Sound Processor) world with their new $5000 Anthem Statement D1 SSP. Audioholics forums alone has experienced a good deal of activity about the Statement D1 with some even comparing it to the latest high end receivers and processors.

The Yamaha RX-Z9 is an exceptionally good product and value, and in my opinion, dominates a segment of the marketplace currently not filled. The RX-Z9 has just about every conceivable feature, from video processing to unlimited DSP modes, tone controls and equalizers with adjustable settings, to i.Link to handle DVD-A and SACD in the digital domain. It has time delay compensation, level control and decoding. At last, one cable to handle all audio formats and allow the receiver to provide necessary bass management! Two multi-zone settings (one with power amp assignability, the other passive with triggered outputs) allows for the receiver to serve as the demarcation point for house-wide entertainment where minimal components are required.

The Integra Research RDC-7.1 is truly a high end processor in both form and function. Its physical appearance and build quality have no rival. The Integra's modular based design provides an easy path for upgradeability ensuring longevity of your investment. All of the major surround formats and video switching options are covered for the most part, and the ability of provisioning extra component video switching or BNC connections will serve installers of high caliber home theater systems quite well. Check out our review of the Integra Research RDC-7.1 for the full report.

The review of the Denon AVR-3805 has been a long time in coming, but we have assembled what we hope will be an informative document that does its best to take you through what it's like to own this 7.1 receiver. The Denon AVR-3805 is an impressive all-around receiver. It is feature-rich and is the next in line of an unbroken a pedigree of solid performers from Denon. The customization offered by the AVR-3805 rivals just about anything in its price class. With the ability to bi-amp the main channels, full customization over your speaker configuration, and ample control over how DSP modes are utilized and configured for each source mode, the Denon AVR-3805 tops our recommended list in its price class. Add to this 8 Burr-Brown 24-bit 192 kHz DACs on all eight channels, 24-bit 192 kHz A/D conversion on ALL stereo analogue inputs, and some of the latest, most progressive features yet to hit the hi-fi market and you've got a real winner.

Axiom Audio, the well known Internet Direct speaker manufacturer, has released a line of cables including speaker, coaxial and optical digital audio, analogue audio, s-video, and every flavor that has an RCA end. Examine the Axiom Audio analogue interconnects and you will find gold-plated, stiff RCA connectors that comfortably grip when attached without risking damage during insertion or removal. They have a secure connection, yet are removable without much difficulty. Of all our samples, all had excellent solder connections. Plus, they are pretty.

It had been a while since Audioholics did a speaker shootout, so we thought it was high time we gather up the clan and head off to the home theater room for some good old-fashioned listening tests. On the menu were some great contenders from the likes of RBH Sound, Aperion Audio, Mordaunt-Short and Velodyne. Since there are so many factors involved in creating an effective small bookshelf or satellite speaker system, we buckled up for the methodical task of listening to, and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of, each system.

athena TECHNOLOGIES is the newest of companies headed by Audio Products International which also includes companies such as Energy Speakers, Mirage and Sound Dynamics.