AT A GLANCE Plus
Clean-sounding dialogue
Silky detail
Big, open presentation
Minus
Limited deep bass (without sub)
THE VERDICT
Elac’s new Uni-Fi Reference series can hang with many far larger and pricier loudspeakers. Just add a subwoofer or two to this system for movies, and you’ll be good to go.
German speaker company Elac has had quite a run over the past few years, with designer Andrew Jones turning out new models on an annual basis after setting the audio world on its ears in 2016 with the Elac Debut. Following the Debut's launch, the company came out with the pricier Uni-Fi. A three-way bookshelf design, the Uni-Fi incorporated a coincident midrange-woofer that positions the tweeter at the apex of the midrange cone where the dust cap usually sits.
"I'm just very grateful we're allowed to, by grace, manifest some really, really high-standard, quality music. We do not have to be victims of static."
That's rock legend Carlos Santana, succinctly summarizing two things at once: a) the fine art of making music worth listening to, and b) being able to hear that music as clearly as the artist intended. (To that end, Carlos and I wound up switching phone lines during the front end of our conversation in order to hear each other with a much better-sounding connection, but that's another story.)
LG just announced pricing for its 2022 OLED TV lineup introduced earlier at CES. The new range includes the OLED evo G2 Gallery Edition and OLED evo C2 series models, both of which feature a new α9 Gen 5 processor that delivers improved peak light output—up to 20 percent, according to the company. Most models are available now at LG.com, and they will be arriving at retail stores in April.
Q I own a pair of Edifier S2000 Pro Bluetooth bookshelf speakers. I love listening to music through these, but often want to hear more bass and this model doesn’t have a subwoofer output. What are your suggestions for getting better bass from a Bluetooth wireless speaker system? —Jeff Crunkleton, via email
Update (March 23, 2022): It turns out the S95B OLED TV model, one of the many models covered in the recent Samsung news release announcing pre-order status for its 2022 TVs, will actually be the first QD OLED TV to hit the U.S. market if Samsung hits its target April delivery dates. Read more about the advantages and promise of QD OLED display technology in Trends of CES 2022. A Samsung spokesperson offered this explanation: “Since the term OLED is already widely accepted and understood, Samsung decided to go with the nomenclature ‘Samsung OLED TV’ to avoid confusion among consumers.” Industry insider Robert (Bob) O’Brien, co-founder of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), offers his take on this unusual situation in an interview that posts tomorrow (March 24).
Samsung has announced that many of the 2022 TV models it unveiled in January at CES 2022 are now available for purchase or pre-order, depending on the series/model. Here’s a breakdown of specific models with shipping dates where available.
Whenever I board a train, airplane, or boat, I always ask if I can drive. Except for the time when that cruise ship capsized and sank off the French coast, the engineer/pilot/captain has never handed over the keys. Still, it never hurts to ask. But when I get in a car, I almost always get to drive. Which brings us to the question of “driving” a car and the future of mobile entertainment.
Register to win one of three Carlos Santana Blessings and Miracles Vinyl Editions (value $34.98 each), or a limited edition Carlos Santana hand signed Blessings & Miracles PRS SE Doublecut Electric Guitar (value: $2,995/priceless) we are giving away.
"Santana delivers one of the most ambitious, inspired, and magical records of his storied career. There are genre-bending, hook-filled celebrations featuring Rob Thomas, Chris Stapleton, G-Eazy, American Authors and Ally Brooke, and thrilling feats of bravura musicianship that pair the guitar master with fellow icons like Chick Corea and Steve Winwood, and knockout rockers with Metallica's Kirk Hammett and Living Colour's Corey Glover, among others."
"Featuring the artwork from the 2021 Blessings and Miracles release, this Santana Student Edition PRS electric guitar is a must have for any collector. This is a very limited run of these guitars and is hand signed by Carlos Santana."
In this classy, hard-boiled, Prohibition-era noir saga by writer-director Joel Coen and co-writer Ethan Coen—with uncredited lifting from Samuel Dashiell Hammett, who actually created the memorable, colorful characters, plot, and mood in his 1931 novel The Glass Key—Tom Reagan (Gabriel Byrne) is right-hand man and wise, cool-headed adviser to powerful political boss Liam "Leo" O'Bannon (Albert Finney).
Portuguese-Canadian songstress Nelly Furtado hit the Top 10 back in 2000 with her sultry debut single “I’m Like a Bird,” a deceptively melancholy flight-of-fancy kiss-off of sorts that soars even higher in its Dolby Atmos form. (“Bird” ultimately appeared on Furtado’s acclaimed October 2000 debut album, Whoa, Nelly!)
Okay, we’re still a couple days away from the official first day of spring but it’s warming up and the dreary winter landscape is starting to show signs of life. It’s a great time to celebrate the arrival springtime and have a look the latest A/V news and gear.