A/V Product Reviews

In a world where cramming as many home theater speakers as humanly possible is the norm, it is nice to know there are electronics companies still dedicated to quality two-channel music. Enter the Rotel RA-1062 Integrated Amplifier and CD-1072 HDCD Player. These are slim line components designed to fit in tight spaces and deliver big sound without breaking your bank account. You won't find any fancy DSP or surround modes, no On Screen Displays or learning remotes. Instead, you will find the essential high quality audio reproduction guts of what today seems to be a dying art - two-channel music.

In a world where cramming as many home theater speakers as humanly possible is the norm, it is nice to know there are electronics companies still dedicated to quality two-channel music. Enter the Rotel RA-1062 Integrated Amplifier and CD-1072 HDCD Player. These are slim line components designed to fit in tight spaces and deliver big sound without breaking your bank account. You won't find any fancy DSP or surround modes, no On Screen Displays or learning remotes. Instead, you will find the essential high quality audio reproduction guts of what today seems to be a dying art - two-channel music.

What makes a good subwoofer? For some, it’s heart-stopping bass with the ability to topple small children. For others, it’s reproduction of such low frequency waves that ocean mammals are summoned to beach themselves during intense passages. For myself, however, I like a “musical” subwoofer that blends well with my reference speakers and doesn’t sound like a tone generator capable of reproducing only a single note. Musical subs are fun to listen to and provide definition and quality to low frequency content. Without a musical sub, you end up with “thump” and little definition below 80Hz.

Having previously reviewed the BDI Axis line of furniture, we were curious as to how well the Icon line would compare, being made for a different type of display altogether. I isolated some important needs for a DLP/plasma display shelf system.

The designers at Von Schweikert had some great goals in mind when creating the VR-2. Just to name a few, phase correction in the crossover, full frequency range, and my favorite, transparency. I wanted to remain as objective as possible in my approach to reviewing the VR-2 speakers so I did not read any reviews, entertain any user opinions, nor did I do any research on these speakers until I had experienced them first hand.

This year commemorated the 45th Annual Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival which started on March 19th, 2004. Over 1,000 award winning artists world-wide try to enter and display at this show, but only 250 are actually selected. Check out our report of this event.

Having just published an article on the various display format technologies, we are happy to find that some of the best pictures are still being shown with CRT technology. As DLP and LCoS improves (not to mention drops in price) the digital formats may outperform the analogue CRTs. Until, then however, if you want the absolute best picture, and size and weight are not an issue, CRT technology will get you where you want to be.

I reached a point in my home theater hobby that afforded me the luxury of assembling a secondary two channel audio system. While building this system, I came to the realization of just how nice it would be to enjoy both music and movies in the comforts of my own bedroom. I later decided it may be advantageous to integrate home theater with it for those lazy late night movie watching extravaganzas. As my equipment stacked up for this would-be two-channel audio system gone home theater, I came to a quick realization that I was running out of shelf space faster then the assembly of my equipment. With that, I went out on a quest to find the best A/V furniture within a reasonable price class that met my requirements.

Last year Denon dazzled us with the introduction to their first Universal DVD Player known as the DVD-2900 . In a single stroke, a manufacturer was able to produce an affordable machine that obsoleted much of the hardware limitations we noted in prior technical articles we wrote regarding DVD-A and SACD. The DVD-2900 satisfied many of our concerns, and performed admirably, especially for its asking price ($999 MSRP). As good as this player was, it did leave room for improvement thus paving the way for the DVD-5900.

We are at a bit of a crossroads in technology right now as some of the digital rights management rules change and digital transmission of DVD-Audio and SACD finally become a reality. As of right now (but not for long), the choices remain to go analogue or utilize a proprietary digital format for audio. Digital video output specifications are also in a state of flux as DVI and HDMI are being discussed (and possibly both utilized) as standards. Since many people are still in possession of analogue displays (CRT direct view or rear projection) this is not a limiting factor at all. In fact, it's the newer technologies that have yet to prove themselves and deal with issues and difficulties long ago solved by their analogue counterparts (resolution conversion and enhancement, for example.)

For many of us who have fallen victim to the world of home theater technology, there comes a point when we graduate to the "big screen". For me, this happened when I stumbled across a DLA-DS1 JVC video projector that needed a new power supply. It was one of those "bargain basement" deals I just couldn't pass up. I mean, we're talking a serious upgrade from a 1997 52-inch 4:3 Sony RPTV that didn't even have RGB inputs.

When I first heard I was to receive an MX-700 remote control to review I was mildly receptive. I was fairly happy with my Yamaha learning remote control, one that came with the RX-V3000 receiver I owned. What I primarily liked about that receiver's remote was its ability to automatically facilitate audio-follows-video switching and its dedicated receiver volume control. In using the Home Theater Master MX-700, I underwent an entire change in understanding of how well a remote control can function. While the small LCD of my Yamaha remote allowed for control of devices without affecting the current selected inputs, the fully-functional multi-pane LCD screen of the Home Theater MX-700 allows for tremendous flexibility in controlling all of your devices efficiently and ergonomically.

Canton was founded in 1972 by four hi-fi enthusiasts who joined together with the goal of always producing the best speakers of their class. Canton is a combination of the Latin word "cantare" (to sing) and the German word "Ton" (musical tone). Canton started officially with 35 employees on 1 January 1973 assembling speaker enclosures. Their initial development work was done in a living room.

Tannoy is the brand name on many prestigious sound installations throughout the world. Examples include the Hong Kong Convention Centre, the Sydney Opera House, the London Palladium theatre, Coca Cola Headquarters in Atlanta , the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas , the Dolce & Gabbana headquarters in Milan and the Finnish National Theatre.