LATEST ADDITIONS

In screenwriter-director Tom Ford’s (A Single Man) adaptation of Austin Wright’s multi-reality novel, we discover Susan’s emotionally drained existence, disillusioned with marriage and her career in blue-chip art curating. It’s an expensive life of high-end fashion and cutting-edge contemporary paintings, antiseptic interiors in fancy galleries and elegant homes.

In three years there will be some 10 million cars on the road with self-driving features. What will people do in a car that drives itself?

PRICE $600

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Fine amplifier sonics and power
Excellent, quick-responding home-network streaming plays most formats, including HRA and DSD
Speaker Relocation & Phantom Surround feature
Minus
Scales only 1080p/24 video to 4K

THE VERDICT
Excellent audio performance and a unique feature set counterbalance a somewhat quirky and (in a few cases) slow user interface.

It’s been several years since I’ve had a Sony AV receiver in my rack, so when the STR-DN1080 arrived on my porch, I was eager to see what the foundational brand’s 7.1-channel Dolby Atmos/DTS:X model had to offer. Sony has been synonymous with consumer electronics for so long that today—in the more specialized corners of the field, such as home theater—it’s easy to overlook the company that was such an early player in the game. But Sony still has an enviable market position, as well as design and engineering firepower aplenty to compete in any sphere they choose.

Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

A Here’s a question that has probably been asked and answered a thousand times. I plan to upgrade my system from a 7.1-channel to a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos configuration. Should I replace my current dipole surround speakers with direct-radiating speakers? Also, which 11.2-channel AV receivers should I consider buying? —Dave Brown / via e-mail