LATEST ADDITIONS

Mark Henninger  |  Nov 19, 2024
Bose Corporation has announced its acquisition of the McIntosh Group, the parent company of high-end audio brands McIntosh and Sonus faber. This strategic move positions Bose to expand into the luxury and high-performance audio markets.
Dennis Young  |  Nov 19, 2024
The 2024 Capital Audiofest (CAF) was the 13th "Capfest" and the largest CAF show thus far. I visited a few key rooms that would be of special interest for Sound & Vision readers.
Mark Henninger  |  Nov 17, 2024  |  First Published: Nov 18, 2024

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $4800/pair

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Excellent audio fidelity
Attractive
Easy to assemble

Minus
Expensive relative to capability
No Atmos speakers or dedicated surrounds
Center channel model is a 2-way

THE VERDICT
The Focal Aria Evo X No. 2 towers blend stunning design with powerful, detailed sound, making them a standout in high-end audio.

Focal, the French audio manufacturer with roots in professional and consumer speaker design, has seamlessly blended technical prowess with stylish aesthetics in its products. Their Aria Evo X series continues this tradition, featuring an organic Moss Green finish and flax drivers that not only perform exceptionally but also offer a unique, natural look.

Mark Henninger  |  Nov 17, 2024
I signed up for Netflix for the first time in a year just to catch the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match. Having previously canceled my subscription due to lack of use, I shelled out $23 for the top-tier plan that includes 4K streaming. I had high hopes for a big, entertaining event—and, well, hopes were all I got.
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 14, 2024

Synchronicity is the album that vaulted the blended British/American trio The Police into the megaplatinum global-phenomenon stratosphere, itself a 10-track master class of envelope-pushing pop songwriting, clever and sometimes challenging song arrangements, and truly elite musicianship. To properly fete the band’s studio swan song, A&M/Polydor/Universal Music Recordings has issued several expanded multiformat editions of Synchronicity, including an 84-track 6CD box set and a more abbreviated 43-track 4LP box set. Read Mike Mettler’s review of both super deluxe editions to see if you should add either, or both, to your collection and listening rotation accordingly. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Nov 13, 2024

Immersive music, thy name be David Gilmour. Though Pink Floyd may be a semi-distant active memory, lead guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour has seen fit to issue some quite intriguing solo projects here and there over the past five or so decades. His fifth solo studio effort, Luck and Strange, which was released by Sony Music in multiple formats on September 6, 2024, may indeed be his best outing under his own name—most especially in its Dolby Atmos incarnation. Read Mike Mettler’s review to find out just how good that L&S Atmos mix really is. . .

David Vaughn  |  Nov 12, 2024

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Solid build quality
Intuitive controls
Fully customizable movie wall
Dual hard drive enclosures
Third-party app integration
Minus
Movie discovery needs improvement
Slow boot-up
Quirky handling of Dolby Digital Files

THE VERDICT
A best-in-class experience for accessing and playing your digitally stored movie and music collection.

For about a year and a half I had the privilege of having a Kaleidescape Strato C Movie Player paired with its Terra 48TB Movie Server in my home on an extended loan from the company. The plan was to test the system, write a review on it, and then continue to write reviews of titles available in the Kaleidescape store throughout the loan period.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and when the evaluation period came to a close I was given an opportunity to purchase the review sample for a very good price, but chose not to for a variety of reasons...

Barb Gonzalez  |  Nov 10, 2024
It has undoubtedly happened to all of us. We find ourselves subscribed to a service that we have no interest in or didn’t realize we had signed up for in the first place. The new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) "click-to-cancel" rule states that canceling a subscription should be as easy as signing up. While most users would celebrate this decision, many cable and entertainment companies aren't happy about it, and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) is already filing lawsuits to stop it.
SV Staff  |  Nov 07, 2024
Premium Audio Company (PAC) has unveiled a series of firmware updates aimed at enhancing audio playback, functionality, and room correction on select models from Onkyo, Integra, Elite, and Pioneer. The updates are set to roll out on October 28 and November 18, 2024.
Michael Hamilton  |  Nov 07, 2024

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
SOUND & VISION TOP PICK: BenQ W5800 Home Cinema Projector

PRICE: $5000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Unwavering color stability
Masterclass color fidelity
BenQ benchmark optics
Cool, virtually silent operation
Ideal for budget-constrained post-production facilities
Minus
Not optimized for gaming
Requires additional calibration for exemplary performance
Perceived as pricey
Optimal only with commensurate screen matching
Lacks lens memories for multi-aspect ratio screens

THE VERDICT
Out-of-the-box remarkable for everyday people can be massaged into out-of-this-world-caliber magical for price-conscious advertising, post-production, or any facility requiring a color-accurate, modest room-sized client projection system (with knowledgeable supplemental calibration and selective screen pairing).


Headlining BenQ’s Home Cinema Series projector offerings is the W5800, a 4K UHD model engineered and marketed to appeal to well-informed home theater enthusiasts. The W5800 website emphasizes BenQ’s goal of adhering to the standards for color reproduction in the television and film content production industry as outlined by its governing body, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

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