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Soundbar Reviews
Sonos Ray Soundbar Review
Leslie Shapiro  |  Oct 12, 2022

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $279

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Fantastic vocal clarity
Small footprint
Forward-firing design for easy placement
Minus
Trueplay tuning app only for iOS
Basic surround processing
Limited connectivity

THE VERDICT
The Ray is an affordable entry into the Sonos ecosystem—one that excels in meeting the most basic requirement for any soundbar: dialogue clarity.

Sonos always seems to be one step ahead of the competition, coming out with new products before people even realize they need them. That playbook hasn't changed with Sonos Ray, a new budget-friendly soundbar small enough to fit on a shelf or under almost any TV. While it's a simple design that lacks a ton of features and input options, its sound quality and price ($279) more than make up for those omissions.

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Media Server ReviewsAudio Video News
A Marriage Made in Movie Heaven
David Vaughn  |  Oct 11, 2022

Hands On with the Kaleidescape Strato C Movie Player and Terra 48TB Movie Server

Reviewing A/V products began as a hobby that led to some paid gigs starting 16 years ago. Years of reviewing fantastic equipment opened my eyes to two concepts: Better equipment does come with a cost, but there’s this thing called “The Law of Diminishing Returns.” For example, in the AVR world, a $1,000 receiver offers a lot more features and functions than a $300 one — more power, more HDMI inputs, more channels, more robust onboard EQ, etc. But what about a $3,000 model versus one that costs $1,000? Likely it will also offer more, but not necessarily three times the value.
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Signals
The Strange World of "Numbers Stations"
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 09, 2022
Late one night, unable to sleep, you fire up your short-wave radio and aimlessly tune across the dial. Broadcasts from close by and from distant lands, in English and in languages very much not English. Then you come across something unusual — a radio station with a voice endlessly repeating a series of seemingly random numbers. Congratulations. You have stumbled into the strange world of numbers stations.

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Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Star Trek: The Motion Picture – Director’s Edition 4K
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 07, 2022
Picture
Sound
Extras
With the theatrical re-release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture earlier this year, a new generation of fans has discovered its charms, thanks in large part to an extensive upgrade to the creator-approved Director’s Edition released on DVD in 2001 — the version personally overseen by director Robert Wise to better represent the movie the way he wanted to debut it back in 1979. But, now, a stunning new version of the film has emerged in the 2022 Director’s Edition, which presents this classic movie in 4K/HDR and Dolby Atmos for the first time.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
New Gear: Fall 2022
Bob Ankosko  |  Oct 06, 2022
Though our coverage of CEDIA 2022 dominated these pages over the past week or so, there were plenty of A/V companies that didn’t make it to Dallas. Here’s a look at some of the gear introduced outside of the annual event.
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The S&V Interview
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Re-Energizing a Sci-Fi Classic
Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 06, 2022
Ambitious, original, yet largely underappreciated, the first Star Trek film stands alone. Rushed into theaters in December 1979 with unfinished special effects and a studio-mandated runtime of only 130 minutes, it was not the version director Robert Wise intended.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
KEF Expands In-Wall Lineup with New THX-Certified Speakers
Bob Ankosko  |  Oct 05, 2022
Though KEF did not physically attend the CEDIA 2022 in Dallas last week, the iconic British brand was there in spirit. Hours before the Expo opened its doors, the company announced the addition of two THX-certified models to its line of architectural speakers — an in-ceiling/wall subwoofer and its first a three-way coaxial design.
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CEDIA 2022Audio Video NewsNew Products
CEDIA 2022 Wrap-Up
Mark Henninger  |  Oct 04, 2022  |  First Published: Oct 03, 2022
A successful trade show has a special energy to it. You get a buzz out of the traffic, the constant hum, and the ever-present chance of bumping into someone you know to share anecdotes. In that sense, CEDIA 2022 in Dallas ranks as a huge success, a return to form for a show that experienced a couple of rough years due to COVID.
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A/V Veteran
Flashback: HD DVD vs. Blu-ray
Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 04, 2022
Readers new to the home theater universe might not be aware that the Blu-ray video disc format wasn't always the only game in town. Back in the late aughts it was engaged in a brief but hard fought format war with a similar competitor for the consumer's high definition dollars: HD DVD.
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Audio Video NewsNew ProductsCEDIA 2022
Sound & Vision's CEDIA 2022 Editor’s Picks
Mark Henninger  |  Oct 03, 2022
The show in Dallas is over but the memories remain. It was no ordinary expo, three years have passed since I last attended a CEDIA, and the relief in seeing folks face-to-face and getting hands-on with gear was palpable. So too was the sense of having fast-forwarded to the future, the changes in tech reflected skipping right from 2019 to 2022, instead of seeing the usual yearly increment. Here's a slice of what got my attention on the show floor, our Sound & Vision Editor's Picks for CEDIA 2022.
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