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Audio Video NewsNew Products
New Gear Roundup: Spring 2022
Bob Ankosko  |  May 05, 2022
We round up the latest gear from the bustling world of home and mobile entertainment.
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Projector Reviews
LG HU710PW 4K Laser DLP Projector Review
Al Griffin  |  May 04, 2022

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Impressive contrast
Flexible zoom and lens shift range
Built-in streaming platform with HDMI eARC
Minus
Limited brightness necessitates dark room viewing
Smart interface not for everyone

THE VERDICT
LG’s 4K laser DLP projector delivers impressive picture quality and value, but its limited brightness requires a dark room for best performance.

LG has been at the vanguard in manufacturing "smart" projectors—models that, like more traditional offerings, sit at the back of the room and beam images to a separate screen, but also provide the streaming and voice control features you'd find in any smart OLED or LCD flat-panel TV. In 2021 we reviewed the company's HU810PW ($2,999), a single-chip (0.47-inch) DLP projector that delivered 4K images via pixel-shifting. Now, we have that model's sibling, the HU710PW, a similarly featured projector that arrives with a lower 2,000 ANSI lumens brightness spec, but also a lower price ($2,499 MSRP).

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Audio Video News
An Evening With Satchmo at the KEF Music Lounge
Howard Kneller  |  May 04, 2022
KEF’s April 30, 2022 “An Evening with Satchmo” event, featuring special guest Grammy winner Ricky Ricciardi, Director of Research Collections at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and Archives, marked the first time that I wore a suit since the pandemic’s start. Although the manufacturer events that I’ve recently attended have each raised the bar on luxury, this one promised to significantly up the ante. It featured not only a semi-formal dress code, but high-end food and spirits and Louis Armstrong music and video clips in an elegant setting—KEF’s Marlboro, New Jersey Music Lounge, which the company describes as an “idea, training, and experience center” that’s physically attached to its U.S. corporate headquarters.
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Stream On
Can Tidal Stem the Tide of Its Hi-Res Challengers?
Mike Mettler  |  May 03, 2022
Streaming giant Tidal continues upping its sound quality game. But can the company stem the tide of its many hi-res challengers? Mike Mettler takes the streaming service for a spin to find out.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Denon Builds Sub into New Soundbar to Simplify Setup
Bob Ankosko  |  May 02, 2022
Denon has simplified setup of its latest soundbar by building the “subwoofer” into the bottom of its enclosure, forgoing the need for a separate bass module.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
RoboCop
Chris Chiarella  |  Apr 29, 2022
Picture
Sound
Extras
Let's get right to the point: This new RoboCop boxed set gets my highest recommendation. For starters, director Paul Verhoeven's cheeky tale of a crimefighting cyborg is still thrilling, still funny, and still uniquely satisfying.
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Spatial Audio File
Everybody Got to Elevate Spatial Audio
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 29, 2022
Spoiler alert: Rush’s February 1981 masterpiece, Moving Pictures, is my personal No. 1 favorite album of all time, so I was very much looking forward to hearing the entire album in its full glory in Atmos. Interestingly, stellar Atmos mixes of two great Pictures tracks, “Tom Sawyer” and “Limelight,” were released last year on Apple Music in anticipation of celebrating the album’s 40th anniversary, but the balance of its seven tracks were held back until now, mostly due to supply-chain issues in order to align with the physical release of the Moving Pictures Super Deluxe Edition box set that finally came to market earlier this month—a mondo-disc collection that features a 24-bit/96kHz Atmos mix of the entire album on its included Blu-ray.
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Audio Video News
Best Gear of April 2022
Bob Ankosko  |  Apr 28, 2022
As April winds to a close, we review our Top Picks for the month, which include a budget soundbar system from a well-known American speaker brand, a top performing integrated amplifier, and the latest THX-certified subwoofer from an accessory-turned-audio-brand that’s growing by leaps and bounds.
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Integrated Amp ReviewsStreaming Device Reviews
NAD C 399 Integrated Amplifier Review
Howard Kneller  |  Apr 27, 2022

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,548 (as tested)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Stellar performance
Powerful internal amplifier
Modular design accommodates updates and additional features
Minus
Modestly built chassis
Small front-panel display
Uninspired remote control

THE VERDICT
The C 399 delivers great performance, impressive features and flexibility, and high value in a modest, yet handsome package.

While waiting on the arrival of NAD's C 399 integrated amplifier for review, I checked it out on the company's website. What I saw there was a minimally adorned exemplar of the black-box design school, with steel chassis panels of ordinary fabrication and a small display showing mostly monochrome text. Yawn. Well, a funny thing happened when the C 399 finally arrived, and I unboxed it. I took a shine to its no-frills, understatedly handsome looks. Sure, there are more striking-looking components out there with more robust build quality, but they'll cost you.

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New Products
Sony Launches Trio of Native 4K Laser Projectors
Al Griffin  |  Apr 26, 2022
Sony is stepping up its home theater projector game with the launch of three models, all packing native 4K SXRD (LCOS) display chips driven by a laser phosphor light engine. The new additions to the company’s projector lineup range in price from $6,000 to $28,000 and start shipping in May.
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