Best Gear of November 2018 Page 2

Sennheiser HD 569 Headphones: $149


Performance
Features
Comfort
Value
If you think audiophile sound quality is beyond the reach of headphones that cost a hundred and fifty bucks, think again. Sennheiser has made all the right choices with its new HD 569, featuring a rugged plastic design with black suede accents, super comfortable memory-foam earpads, and two cables — a 10-footer for home use and a 4-footer with an in-line remote/microphone and minijack for use with a phone. Impressed with its sweet tone and neutral sound, headphone maven Steve Guttenberg wrote: “Don’t underestimate the HD 569; this is an audiophile-oriented design. That much was clear when I spent a few hours spellbound listening to Vladimir Horowitz CDs…The HD 569 was a faithful messenger of this music.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Lightweight yet rugged design
Smooth overall sound balance
Two-year warranty
Minus
Isolation from external noise could be better

Full Review Here

Sony VPL-VW295ES 4K Video Projector: $5,350


Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
With its new VPL-VW295ES projector, Sony has refined the performance of last year’s excellent VPL-VW285ES, making it is easy to recommend — especially when you consider it is the least expensive true 4K video projector you can buy. Though there is room for improvement in black-level performance, veteran reviewer Tom Norton was nonetheless impressed with its peak brightness and resolution: “Reproduction of fine details was first-rate,” he wrote. “The Ultra HD Blu-ray version of Braveheart is a gorgeous, true 4K transfer, and the Sony showed more facial pores and freckles than any self-respecting actor would care to reveal.”

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Excellent resolution
Good HDR brightness
Quiet
Minus
Middling black level
Limited BT.2020 and P3 color coverage
No 10-point white balance adjustment

Full Review Here


To browse all Sound & Vision-recommended AV gear, broken out by category, visit our Top Picks page.

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