LATEST ADDITIONS

The S&V Interview
38 Special Keeps Rockin’ Into the Night
Mike Mettler  |  May 19, 2016
Rock is rock, no matter where it comes from and who’s playing it. Sure, certain sounds and styles will always get some kind of genre label attached to them, but it all really boils down to one thing: Does the music move you? “Obviously, we’re from the South and proud to be Southerners — but you know, man, we just write and play music,” observes Donnie Van Zant, co-founding 38 Special guitarist. Adds co-founding 38 Special vocalist/guitarist Don Barnes, “We derive everything from our influences from before and we’ve kept the standards high, just like they all have.” Recently, I got on the line separately with Van Zant, 63, and Barnes, also 63, to discuss the rich musical history of 38 Special and their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, working with Dan Hartman as their early-era producer, and their respective legacies as both songwriters and performers. They’re just two wild-eyed Southern boys caught up in making some good ol’ rock & roll for anyone who’s willing to listen.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Denon AVR-X7200W A/V Receiver Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 19, 2016

Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Gobs of power for almost any situation
Audyssey MultEQ XT32
Atmos, DTS:X, and Auro 3D
ISF certified
Minus
Daunting price

THE VERDICT
The Denon AVR-X7200W is pricey, but this flagship is loaded with power, features, and performance.

Ticking off all the feature checkboxes does not automatically confer popularity on a flagship audio/video receiver. Some prospective buyers will look at the four-figure price tag of the Denon AVR-X7200W and just say, no, sorry, not for me—despite the fact that many other high-end audio products, and luxury products in general, sell for far more. The AVR category is the spiritual home of those who love to get more for less. Why, asks the hardheaded audio buff, do I need to pay three grand for all those features, all those jacks—all that stuff I’ll never need? The answer is that the features you do need may be worth the price. If your speakers are a little more demanding than the home theater norm or you have a large room, you’ll want as much power as possible, and this receiver is Denon’s best shot.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Ramping Up Your Room Acoustics
SV Staff  |  May 19, 2016
If the perpetual pursuit of sonic perfection is in your DNA, here’s a wall treatment you might consider.
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Throwback Thursday
Flashback 1991: Welcome to the World Wide Web
SV Staff  |  May 19, 2016
Stop for a moment and try to remember life before the Internet. Typewriters. Trips to the library. Looking stuff up in the Yellow Pages. A different world, right?
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Ask S&V
Can My Gear Support High Dynamic Range Video?
Al Griffin  |  May 18, 2016
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I would like to know if my current Vizio TV (P502Ui-B1E) and Pioneer receiver (VSX-1130-K) will be able to support both the HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR formats.  I’d really prefer not to have to upgrade the Pioneer receiver since it was purchased recently to support both 4K@60Hz video and Dolby Atmos audio in my system. I'm also interested in picking up LG’s 65EF9500 OLED, a 2015 model,  but am wondering the same thing about HDR support on that TV.  —Johnston Cheng

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Audio Video News
Most Would Dump ESPN
Mark Fleischmann  |  May 18, 2016
If you groan every time you pay your pay-TV bill, consider that the most expensive item bundled into it is Disney’s ESPN, which adds $8/month to the average bill. Can ESPN survive in the dawning age of skinnier cable bundles? Most pay-TV viewers would dump it like a sack of dirt, according to a study by marketing company Civic Service commissioned by financial services company BTIG.
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3D Projector ReviewsProjector Reviews
LG PF 1000U 3D DLP Projector Review
Al Griffin  |  May 18, 2016
2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,400

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Ultra short throw design
Accurate color
Built-in smart/streaming features
Minus
Mediocre picture contrast
Limited brightness
Poor picture uniformity

THE VERDICT
LG’s PF1000U has a number of compelling convenience features, but its performance is well below that of other comparably priced 1080p projectors.

A compact, portable projector makes sense for a rec room or vacation home where a full-scale, full-time home theater isn’t possible—or even wanted. LG isn’t well known as a projector company, but they’ve been steadily building a portfolio of compact projector options over the past few years. Last year, I checked out the PF85U (soundandvision.com), a 1080p model with an array of smart features, including Web browsing and Netflix streaming. This time around, I’m looking at LG’s PF1000U, another 1080p DLP model packed with an array of smart/streaming features.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Philips Ultra HD Blu-ray Player Due Out in June
SV Staff  |  May 18, 2016
The Philips BDP7501 Ultra HD Blu-ray player demonstrated at CES in January will be available for sale in June, according to P&F USA, the exclusive North American licensee for Philips TVs and video products.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Denon Adds 2 Budget Models to X Series Receivers
SV Staff  |  May 18, 2016
Denon has added two richly-featured budget models to the fourth generation of its X Series line of AV receivers.

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Headphone Reviews
Audeze LCD-4 Headphone Review
Steve Guttenberg  |  May 17, 2016

Performance
Build Quality
Comfort
Value
PRICE $3,995

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Audeze ups their game, again!
Solid build quality
Made in Costa Mesa, California
Minus
They’re heavy!

THE VERDICT
You’ll know it when you hear it—there’s something very right, natural, and organic about the Audeze LCD-4’s sound.

The uber headphone field is getting mighty crowded—we have the Abyss AB-1266 ($5,495), Hifiman HE1000 ($2,999), Stax SR 009 ($3,999), Sennheiser Orpheus ($55,000!)—and now we have Audeze’s latest, the LCD-4 ($3,995). Talk about sticker shock! But let’s put those prices in perspective: All of them put together cost far less than a single Wilson Audio Alexandria XLF speaker, which sell for upwards of $200,000 per pair. So, as extreme as toptier headphone price tags have become, most are still within reach of a vastly larger group of enthusiasts than the very best high-end speakers. By that criterion, uber ’phones like the LCD-4 are comparatively affordable. Expensive, yes, but the best stuff always is.

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