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Surround Sound System ReviewsSubwoofer ReviewsTower Speaker Reviews
MartinLogan ElectroMotion ESL X Speaker System Review
Al Griffin  |  Apr 12, 2017

ElectroMotion ESL X Speaker System
Performance
Build Quality
Value

Dynamo 1500X Subwoofer
Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $11,395 as reviewed

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Excellent performance with music and movies
Perfect Bass Kit for sub eases setup
Compact electrostatic center speaker
Minus
Some timbral shift between center channel and towers
Towers and center require AC power

THE VERDICT
MartinLogan’s ESL X tower speakers deliver delicacy and detail—along with serious dynamics when paired with the Dynamo 1500X subwoofer. A new, more compact electrostatic center speaker sweetens the deal.

As a member of Generation X, I sometimes get paranoid about being target-marketed when I see a product name appended with an “X”—for instance, MartinLogan’s new ElectroMotion ESL X speaker. I, for one, would be an easy target: An eX-MartinLogan owner, I’m very familiar with the detailed, almost eerily present sound that the company’s hybrid electrostatic speakers deliver. Consider me a fan.

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Audio Video News
First 4K Live Stream from Space Set for April 26
SV Staff  |  Apr 12, 2017
If you’re a fan of space exploration, add a reminder to your calendar: Two weeks from today (April 26) NASA will live stream from the International Space Station 250 miles above Earth in 4K—the highest resolution video ever broadcast live from space.
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Audio Video News
LeEco Backs Out of $2 Billion Vizio Acquisition
SV Staff  |  Apr 12, 2017
LeEco, the China-based online video and internet TV content provider, has abandoned plans to acquire Vizio in a $2 billion deal announced last summer.
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SmartStream
Hands On: HDHomeRun TV Tuner and DVR
Barb Gonzalez  |  Apr 12, 2017
In the search for ways to free ourselves from the escalating costs of pay TV, the missing piece of the puzzle is the ability to stream and record live local TV broadcasts. We can stream movies, previous TV seasons, and many cable channels—from Food TV and A&E to Cartoon Network on Sling TV— but getting local TV is another matter.
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Headphone Reviews
Audeze iSine 10 Headphones
Steve Guttenberg  |  Apr 11, 2017

Performance
Build Quality
Comfort
Value
PRICE $399

AT A GLANCE
Plus
High-resolution sound
Planar magnetic drivers
Comes with Apple Lightning and standard cables
Minus
Little or no isolation from external noise

THE VERDICT
The Audeze iSine 10’s sound crushes the competition—it’s more dynamically alive, more spacious, and more transparent than any other in-ear headphone I’ve heard so far.

With the iSine 10, Audeze completely reinvented the in-ear headphone. I’m not exaggerating. While every other in-ear headphone uses dynamic or balanced armature drivers, the iSine 10 has planar magnetic drivers, the same thin-film driver technology Audeze uses with all of their on-, and very high-end over-the-ear headphones. The driver isn’t the only unique design feature, though. The iSine 10’s wild-looking earpieces are a good deal larger and designed in a completely different way than any other in-ear on the market.

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Audio Video News
Zvox Aids Hearing Impaired with Advanced Soundbar
SV Staff  |  Apr 11, 2017
Zvox has introduced an advanced version of its popular AccuVoice TV Speaker that uses patent-pending algorithms to “lift dialogue out of a soundtrack” so it’s easier to understand.
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Audio Video News
PowerDVD Player Now Supports 4K Blu-ray with HDR
SV Staff  |  Apr 11, 2017
Taiwan-based CyberLink today released the latest version of its popular PowerDVD movie and media player for Windows PCs.
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Signals
Big Data and You: The Analytics of Amazon's Alexa
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 11, 2017
Once upon a time, the trajectory of a piece of consumer electronics was arbitrarily ballistic. Much like a cannonball that leaves the muzzle, flies through the air, and lands, a product was manufactured, sold to a consumer, and dumbly performed its appointed functions. Now, and particularly with products like Alexa, when a consumer product enters a home. it's more like adopting a pet, or more accurately, like taking in a puppy that has a doctorate in statistics.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
House of Marley Unveils 'Eco-Conscious' Turntable
SV Staff  |  Apr 11, 2017
House of Marley, the company co-founded by the son of the late reggae icon Bob Marley, today announced its entry into the turntable market with the “eco-conscious” Stir It Up record player featuring a bamboo plinth, slip mat made of recycled silicone rubber, and fabric dust cover made from “up-cycled” hemp, cotton, and recycled plastic bottles.
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Audio Video News
62-Year-Old Retailer hhgregg Is Latest Retail Casualty
SV Staff  |  Apr 10, 2017
Indianapolis-based electronics/appliance retailer hhgregg announced on Friday that it will close its doors by early June, making it the latest brick-and-mortar retail casualty.
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