A/V Product Reviews

The L200 are Polk's latest high-end bookshelf speaker, and the L400 is the center that anchors their Legend series. Both boast many of the state-of-the-art advances implemented in the L800 but deployed on a smaller scale. If you are looking for loudspeakers that are on the same level of fidelity as your hi-res recordings you will want to read our full review to see how the Polk Legend L200 and L400 fare as their new flagship bookshelf and center speakers from Polk Audio.

Looking to cut the cord AND upgrade your pitiful factory installed TV speakers? Check out the Roku 2.0 Channel Smart Soundbar which is now shipping and on sale at your neighborhood big box stores. For $180 or less you can get the easy setup that Roku is known for along with better sound for your TV. Are there any drawbacks? Absolutely! Read the article to see the pros and cons of integrating video streaming into a soundbar.

The new Concert A/V receivers and Maestro preamp/processors deliver “ultimate performance” with up to 16-channels of output and all the latest technology wrapped in AudioControl’s signature sleek black boxes. There are 5 new components in the X Series: the Concert XR-8 receiver ($6,600), the Concert XR-6 receiver ($4,600), the Concert XR-4 receiver ($3,600), the Maestro X7 preamp/processor ($6,600), and the flagship Maestro X9 preamp/processor ($9,600). All products support all 3 immersive surround formats and Dirac Live room correction.

Beale Street Audio has started shipping their highly anticipated BAV4250 and BAV2500 1,000 watt amplifiers. The BAV2500 is a 2-input, 2-channel amplifier with 500 Watts per channel and the BAV4250 is a 4-input, 4-channel amplifier with an output of 250 Watts per channel. Both amps feature DSP processing and a Matrix mode and features IP control with a browser-based GUI. Beale amps offer versatility along with easy setup and control.

Cambridge Audio’s CXN V2 network audio streamer ($1,099) and flagship EDGE NQ preamp ($5,000) are now Roon Ready, meaning they enjoy the highest level of Roon support and features. Roon users can stream high-res music from their hard drives, or from Tidal or Qobuz, to their Cambridge streamers, either individually or as part of a whole-home audio system. The software update providing this improved Roon support is available now. Read on to learn more.

On the wake of several loudspeaker achievements, Atlantic Technology has released its first two headphone products. The FS-BT210 bluetooth headphones ($119) and the FS-HAL1 in-ear-monitors ($199 - $229) promise ergonomic design and award-winning sound quality. The over-ear FS-BT210 boasts low weight and 30 hours of wireless playback per charge. Read on to learn more and be sure to what our recently added YouTube video review.

Shortly before the coronavirus crisis pulled the plug on big industry trade shows, McIntosh showcased its newest home theater products at the ISE (Integrated Systems Europe) AV show in Amsterdam. The new lineup includes the flagship MX170 AV processor ($15,500), the less expensive MX123 AV processor ($8,000), the MC255 5-channel power amplifier ($8,000), and the MC257 7-channel power amplifier ($10,000). Read on for more details.

If upgrading your smartphone's stock earbuds is an out-of-the box necessity, but you also demand wireless because it's 2020, the market offers no shortage of choices. But not all of them make sound quality a priority. BE Live5 is the cost-effective, premium offering by NuForce that actually gives good sound by offering both AAC and aptX codecs, so they're just as comfortable streaming sound from either iPhone or Android. And best of all they cost way less than a new pair of Apple AirPods.

There is heavy competition with the TV display market. How do you compete with companies like LG and Vizio? Samsung has decided to think outside the box and go with a Steve Jobs like showing of innovative thinking and design. Will these futuristic ideas payoff or are they too far ahead of their time? Read our thoughts on the 2020 lineup of 8K UHD Samsung QLED displays to find out.

If you’re looking for a quality pair of wireless over-the-ear headphones and you want to customize the entire setup to your listening needs you might want to check out the new TMA-2 Bluetooth headphones from AIAIAI. Never heard of AIAIAI? Neither had we. They’re comfortable and sound great, but with a $300 price tag will they be able to compete with better known brand names like Sony, Bose and Beats? Be sure to also checkout our Youtube overview video for a closer look.

We've tested A LOT of factory designed and manufactured subwoofers here at Audioholics. This time we built and tested our own with the Creative Sound Solutions SDX12. Does the Creative Sound Solutions SDX12 12" sealed subwoofer DIY kit buy you more performance than commercial offerings? Check out how the SDX12 performed compared to similarly priced commercial offerings.

RBH Sound unveiled a new flagship SVTRS active speaker system that rocked the 2020 Florida Expo show. This large, powerful speaker is truly a sight (and sound) to behold. These titans stand nearly eight feet tall and weigh 310 lbs and offer bass extension down to single digits. RBH claims this new system offers significant advantages over their Status 8T speakers while being slightly less expensive along with including its own state-of-the-art amplifier and DSP tuning. Does Audioholics have a new reference speaker to dethrone the mighty Status 8Ts? Read on to find out!

Rotel’s high-end Michi brand is making a comeback after a long hiatus with three new audiophile stereo components. The Michi P5 Control Amplifier ($4K), S5 Stereo Amplifier ($7K), and M8 Monoblock Amplifier ($7K) are Rotel’s new flagship audio offerings, promising superb build quality, elegant design, and unshakeable 2CH performance. Read on to learn more.

TiVo’s EDGE DVRs are the company’s first offerings to support Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision 4K HDR video. They can also skip entire commercial breaks automatically. The EDGE for cable ($399) and EDGE for antenna ($349) both include 2 TB of hard drive space for recording up to 300 hours of HD video. Read on to learn more.