Audio Video News

Monoprice SB-500 5.1 Soundbar: $280

The Monoprice SB-500 soundbar system takes things up a couple notches over the all-in-one Vizio V21d-J8 soundbar we reviewed in early September. At $280, the SB-500 costs almost three times as much but supplements the three-channel soundbar with a wireless subwoofer and a pair of rear surround speakers, which elevate performance to a true Dolby Digital 5.1 surround-sound experience. Not bad for less than 300 bucks.

Setup is easy: The subwoofer and surround speakers connect automatically to the soundbar when the system is powered up but the surrounds aren’t fully wireless — you have to run a cable between them and plug the right speaker into a power outlet. A fully featured remote with buttons for navigation, bass/treble, and Music/Movie modes is included and the soundbar supports convenient Bluetooth streaming. The 39-inch-wide bar houses front left/center/right driver complements and provides a generous selection of inputs: three 4K/HDR-ready HDMI ports, one of which is ARC-enabled, optical and coaxial digital inputs, an auxiliary analog input, and a USB port.

Putting the system through its paces with movies and music, reviewer Leslie Shapiro reveled in the “impressive dynamics… and level of ambient detail” she heard while watching Jolt on Amazon Prime. Music was satisfying, though not quite as full-bodied as movies. Even so, Shapiro concluded the SB-500 is a steal for the price. (Editor’s note: As of this writing, the SB-500 is available for $210 on monoprice.com.)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Includes wireless subwoofer and surround speakers
Good clarity with movie dialogue
Low price
Minus
Bright LED display
Cable required for surrounds
Music playback can sound thin

Full Review Here (posted 10/19/21)

KLH Model Five Loudspeaker: $2,000/pair

You know you love vintage hi-fi gear and the nostalgia associated with it but it’s hard to find originals in good working condition and restoration is expensive. Enter the re-imagined KLH Model Five, an iconic speaker design from the late 1960s. KLH, one of the classic speaker brands that gave rise to mass-market hi-fi in the 1960s, is back with new owners who are committed to the timeless ideals of Henry Kloss who co-founded the brand with Malcom S. Low and Josef Anton Hofmann in 1957 and was instrumental in establishing two other famous hi-fi brands: Acoustic Research (AR) and Advent.

The new Model Five remains true to the original’s three-way acoustic-suspension design, which uses the air inside a sealed cabinet to produce powerful bass from a relatively small enclosure. Developed and patented by AR founder Edgar Villchur, the design was a groundbreaking concept back in the day. The updated Model Five has a distinct ’60s vibe with an elegant wood-veneer finish (mahogany or walnut) but there are a few technical differences, including the use of a modern 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter and a single 4-inch pulp-paper midrange driver instead of the two side-by-side 5-inch drivers in the original. Otherwise, the speaker has a 10-inch pulp-paper woofer similar to the one used in its predecessor and the same rear-panel Low/Mid/Hi switch for increasing or decreasing mid/high-frequency output. Oh, and it sounds great — maybe even better than the Model Fives, circa 1968.

Reviewer Tom Norton, a diehard audiophile known to tell it like it is, spent many hours listening to the KLH Model Fives and was pleased by what he heard. Captivated by the “huge sonic bubble” the Fives conveyed on Dead Can Dance In Concert, he noted how the speakers excelled with female vocals, which came across as “warm, smooth, and uncolored.” The speakers held their own with bass, too: “Recordings of Japanese Taiko drums sounded hard-hitting, without mud or boom…and when I popped in a good recording of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D-minor the bass I heard would engage all but the most rabid organ fanatics.” Somewhere Henry is smiling. Be sure to read the full review, which traces the history of speaker design in the 1960s.

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Clean, uncolored sound with solid bass
Cool vintage looks
Three-way switch to modify mid- and high-frequency output
Minus
Best sound with grilles off

Full Review Here (posted 10/20/21)

Sony WF-1000XM4 Noise-Canceling True Wireless Earbuds: $280

Sony’s new flagship earbuds are the real deal, offering just about everything you could want in an ear bud: best-in-class sound quality, excellent noise cancellation with an adjustable ambient noise mode, above-average battery life, sweat/water-resistance, and a robust app loaded with features for customizing operation. Among those features: a speak-to-chat mode that automatically pauses music playback, eight equalization (EQ) presets, and a five-band equalizer with two presets for storing your own custom curves.

A fully charged battery provides up to 8 hours of play time with noise-cancellation engaged or 12 hours without it, and the WF-1000XM4’s tiny charging case provides an additional 16 hours. Sony provides an array of options for customizing noise cancellation, including an adaptive mode that detects, learns, and automatically switches between sound modes based on your activity or location. But what’s most impressive is how good the buds are at filtering out ambient noise. Though it was unable to suppress wind noise, the 1000XM4 impressed reviewer Stewart Wolpin by “eliminating more external noise than nearly every other noise-canceling bud I've auditioned.”

“To my ears, the Sony WF-1000XM4 ranks alongside the Bose QC as the best-sounding noise-canceling bud option available,” wrote Wolpin, who presided over our 2021 True Wireless Earbuds Face-Off. “Both supply a wide, airy soundstage and plenty of even-tempered bass, and their response is detailed enough to draw out subtle nuances in music.”

As a bonus, the buds support Sony's 360 Reality Audio spatial audio technology, which delivers enveloping surround sound from music streaming services such as Tidal, Deezer, and Amazon Music HD that support the format. With 360 Reality Audio switched in, “two-dimensional sound suddenly surrounds and envelops you, and it's especially effective for newer music mixes that lend themselves to 360-degree manipulation.” If you want the best and are willing to pay for it, you really can’t go wrong with these Sony earbuds.

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Best-in-class sound reproduction
Sony 360 Reality Audio
Excellent noise canceling
Small buds and case
Long battery life
Minus
Requires deep ear tip insertion
Complicated app, noise canceling options
Doesn't block wind noise

Full Review Here (posted 10/26/21)

Cambridge Audio Evo 150 Streaming Integrated Amplifier: $3,000

England’s Cambridge Audio has developed a number of advanced audio technologies in its 50-plus years and shows no signs of letting up. The new Evo 150 streaming amplifier is a feature-packed, all-in-one music system that combines a robust 2 x 150 watt amplifier with a wired/wireless music streamer, headphone amp, and moving-magnet phono stage in a compact chassis with distinctive side wood panels. All you have to do is add speakers and set off on your musical journey. You won’t be disappointed. At its core are two technologies revered by serious listeners: an ESS Sabre ES9018K2M digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that processes PCM signals up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD signals up to 11.2MHz (DSD 256) and Hypex Ncore Class D amplification.

The Evo 150 leaves little to the streaming imagination and offers every connection you’ll need. It’s fully compatible with the audiophile-approved Roon music-management system, “unfolds” hi-res MQA files, and employs the company’s app-based StreamMagic platform, which is compatible with Apple AirPlay 2 and supports streaming via Chromecast and AptX HD-enabled Bluetooth in addition to providing direct access to Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, and internet radio.

Reviewer Howard Kneller vouched for the 150’s audio prowess. “It sounded fantastic with every speaker I paired it with” and supported a wide, deep soundstage. Listening to the dub/reggae blended ‘Amerimacka,’ from Thievery Corporation’s It Takes a Thief streamed over Qobuz, he wrote: “The Evo 150 “produced the unique mix of synthesized and acoustic sounds with excellent rhythmic flow and plenty of detail. Cymbals sounded clean and glistening, and sitar chords were nicely imbued with that instrument's distinctive reverberant buzz. Even at loud volumes, I detected no headroom issues.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Excellent sound quality
Impressive power in a small package
Extensive feature set
Minus
So-so headphone preamp
Lacks room correction
Non-backlit remote

Full Review Here (posted 10/27/21)

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