LATEST ADDITIONS

Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Heavy Metal
Chris Chiarella  |  May 20, 2022
Picture
Sound
Extras
Adult-skewing animation wasn't a new genre by 1981 (thank you, Ralph Bakshi), but was the world at that time ready for Heavy Metal? Inspired by the illustrated fantasy publication of the same name, this R-rated feature film served up a disparate series of sex-and-violence-filled short stories, loosely held together by the presence of a deadly mystical sphere called the Loc-Nar. Since each issue was an anthology, with assorted tales from a variety of creators, the range of dramatic tones and visual styles here perfectly captures the spirit of the magazine.
Continue Reading »
Spatial Audio File
United in Spatial Audio Gold
Mike Mettler  |  May 20, 2022

Welcome back one and all to the latest weekly installment of Spatial Audio File. As a card-carrying Spatial Audiophile, it's my sacred honor to select five (count ’em) prime Spatial Audio releases on Apple Music by vetting and recommending key individual tracks and (every now and then) full albums via deep-dive listening sessions on my home system and headphones alike. What you will find here is the very best in the immersive Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos universe that’s available in the ever-expanding Apple Music library so you can experience the aural wonders of it all for yourself.

And this week’s fab five are. . .

Continue Reading »
The S&V Interview
High Dynamic Range, HDR10+ Style
Bob Ankosko  |  May 19, 2022
15 Minutes with Bill Mandel, Co-Manager at HDR10+ Technologies, LLC

Sound & Vision talks high dynamic range and the evolution of HDR10+ with Bill Mandel, head of the Visual Solutions Lab at Samsung Research America and co-manager of HDR10+ Technologies, LLC.

Continue Reading »
Subwoofer Reviews
M&K Sound X15+ THX Dominus Certified Subwoofer Review
David Vaughn  |  May 18, 2022

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $5,999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Deep bass response with extremely high output
Impeccable build quality
THX Dominus Certification
Minus
No built-in parametric EQ or room correction
No control app or handset

THE VERDICT
The performance of M&K Sound’s THX Dominus Certified X15+ is over the top. Highly recommended if you demand bass that can go extremely deep and loud even in the largest of rooms.

Let me state from the outset that I'm a fan of M&K Sound speakers. I have owned an M&K S-150 surround system for the past 18-plus years and have zero desire to change it out anytime soon. The first time I auditioned it in a Magnolia Hi-Fi store back in 2002 made me an instant admirer of the brand, and it took me two years of saving up to be able to afford a full 7.1 speaker package. I fully bought into M&K's—and THX's—principle that using a subwoofer/satellite configuration to separate and optimize the reproduction of low frequencies improves midrange purity and accuracy.

Continue Reading »
The Connected Life
You’ve Got to Hide Your Screen Away
John Sciacca  |  May 18, 2022
No matter how large and thin your TV is, you have the equivalent of a giant black hole on the wall when the set is turned off. Here are five ways to hide your screen.
Continue Reading »
Audio Video NewsNew Products
KEF Celebrates 60 Years with Sleek Wireless Towers, Klipsch Updates Reference Lineup
Bob Ankosko  |  May 17, 2022
Two iconic names in British and American hi-fi are drawing on many decades of experience in home audio to advance the art and science of speaker design. KEF is celebrating 60 years with a sexy new wireless tower speaker, while the company founded by Paul W. Klipsch in 1946 works to refine its flagship Reference Premiere series and step-down Reference series yet again.
Continue Reading »
A/V Veteran
Custom Home Entertainment in Covid Times
Thomas J. Norton  |  May 17, 2022
It's been a strange two years for home entertainment as Covid came and went, came and went, came and... It's been even stranger for home theater.
Continue Reading »
Music and Soundtrack Features
Remaster Class: Simple Minds: Once Upon a Time
Mike Mettler  |  May 13, 2022
Talk about peaking at the exact right time. Scottish art-rockers Simple Minds had just hit their stride with February 1984's transitional Sparkle in the Rain and scored an unexpected No. 1 single in the summer of 1985 with the Breakfast Club soundtrack-only smash hit "Don't You (Forget About Me)"—and it was all precursor to the production power that propelled their October 1985 longplayer, Once Upon a Time, into one of the biggest albums of the MTV Decade.
Continue Reading »
Spatial Audio File
All I Wanna Do, Is Spatial Audio
Mike Mettler  |  May 13, 2022
A veritable houseful of tracks by L.A. legends The Doors came onto the Dolby Atmos marketplace last week. Being a consummate fan of the legendary envelope-pushing ’60s band, I just had to check them out, most especially one of my absolute favorite tracks of theirs—“Riders on the Storm,” the last cut on Side 2 of their April 1971 swan song of sorts, L.A. Woman. I say “swan song” only because it was their last album with vocalist/lyricist/shaman-in-chief Jim Morrison as frontman. (Sadly, and somewhat mysteriously, Morrison passed away in Paris, France just three short months after L.A Woman was released.)
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
Study Finds a Thriving Market for Vinyl Records
Bob Ankosko  |  May 12, 2022
In the age of streaming where you can summon any song, band, or music genre in the snap of a finger, the lingering presence of vinyl records seems quaint — a fad embraced by hipsters, nostalgia seekers, and aging hippies. But the latest statistics from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) show that the rebirth of vinyl that began more than a decade ago has real staying power.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X