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Headphone Reviews
Grado Labs PS2000e Headphones
Steve Guttenberg  |  Mar 14, 2018
Performance
Build Quality
Comfort
Value
PRICE $2,695

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Designed and handcrafted in Brooklyn
Best-ever sounding Grado
Freewheeling dynamics
Minus
The non-removable and not very flexible cable

THE VERDICT
The Grado Labs PS2000e takes the classic Grado sound to new heights, but it won’t please everyone.

Grado headphones all have a sound, and they sound like Grados. They’re some of the most viscerally dynamic and lively headphones I’ve heard, and they’re so open and spacious, you never feel like the sound is confined to the space between your ears. The new flagship, the PS2000e, takes the Grado sound to new heights.

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Audio Video News
Sony Adds Gesture Control to Xperia Touch Projector
SV Staff  |  Mar 14, 2018
The unique Xperia Touch mini projector Sony introduced to the U.S. market last fall is getting an upgrade.
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Audio Video News
FandangoNow Joins Movies Anywhere Streaming Service
SV Staff  |  Mar 13, 2018
Movies Anywhere today announced that video-on-demand service FandangoNow has joined its Hollywood-backed movie ecosystem.
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Projector Reviews
Sony VPL-VW885ES LCOS Projector Review
Kris Deering  |  Mar 13, 2018
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $25,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
True 4K (4096 x 2160) SXRD panels
HDR support, including HLG
Laser light engine
Minus
Middling dynamic contrast
Limited HDR adjustments

THE VERDICT
With the new VPL-VW885ES, Sony has added a premium laser model to its consumer projector line, but even at $25,000, it comes with some compromises.

These days, if you want a true native 4K projector (no pixel-shifting required) that doesn't have a Sony badge on it, you'll have to spend $35,000 and up for the privilege. Meanwhile, Sony now has four different models below that mark, starting at $5,000. Since the debut of the VPL-VW1000ES (in 2011!), we've been waiting for other manufacturers to join the native 4K fray—and yet, here we are.

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Remotely Possible
Soundcast's VGtx Is a Super-Fast Bluetooth Super Blaster
Darryl Wilkinson  |  Mar 13, 2018
A couple of weeks ago, I received a package from Soundcast, the makers of outdoor, water-resistant, portable, Bluetooth loudspeakers, such as the original OutCast series; the smaller, easier-to-carry Melody; and the new VG-series models (including the VG10 and VG7). Inside the box was the "first production press sample" of the company's latest speaker, the latest introduction, the VG5. Along with the VG5 was a sample of Soundcast's VGtx, "a long-range wireless stereo transmitter featuring Bluetooth 4.2 and the aptX Low Latency codec."

I've never had much love for Bluetooth...

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A/V Veteran
Is it 4K Yet?
Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 13, 2018
Any flat screen TV advertised as 4K will actually display the full 8 million pixels in a 4K (3840 x 2160) source. You can't be certain about how well it will do a wider color gamut or high dynamic range—the other keystones of Ultra HD—but it will put 8 million discrete pixels on the screen. Whether or not the 4K source material is actually true 4K from the camera to your Ultra HD disc is a different issue for another discussion.

But with projectors there are two versions of 4K resolution...

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Origin Acoustics Ships Voice-Activated Valet System
SV Staff  |  Mar 13, 2018
Custom-installation specialist Origin Acoustics is now shipping the voice-controlled Valet Amplifier it previewed last fall at CEDIA 2017.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Time to Get Serious About Outdoor Sound
SV Staff  |  Mar 12, 2018
It’s official. Spring fever is here as winter prepares for its annual victory lap a week from today. All of which explains why audio manufacturers are starting to share info on their new outdoor speakers.
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Audio Video News
AudioControl Joins The Cinema Designer
SV Staff  |  Mar 12, 2018
AudioControl, the Seattle-based maker of home and car products known best for its signal processors, has announced that it is now part of The Cinema Designer (TCD), a powerful cloud-based tool/database used by professional integrators to design home theaters and media rooms.
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New Products
March 2018 New Gear
SV Staff  |  Mar 09, 2018
A TV with Roku onboard, speakers that hug the wall, kid-safe headphones, and more.
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