LATEST ADDITIONS

SV Staff  |  Jul 17, 2024
KEF is running a Sounds of Summer sale with discounts up to 50% off a collection of speakers, including a couple of Sound & Vision Top Picks. The discounts run through August 31 and the mix includes wireless streaming speakers, KEF’s Ventura Series of outdoor speakers, and Q Series speakers for stereo and home theater systems.
Rob Sabin  |  Jul 16, 2024

Performance
Build Quality
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,050 (as tested)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Exceptional value in build and sound quality
Optional wireless sub and surrounds
Thoughtful and extensive adjustments
Easy-to-use remote and app interface
Minus
Needs the add-on sub for best dynamics
No DTS decoding
No rear-height surrounds...yet

THE VERDICT
Klipsch has partnered with Onkyo to deliver an audiophile-quality soundbar that is one of the best values for the money you'll find.

Dolby Atmos, once a costly premium, is enjoying a surge of popularity across a range of new audio gear. In particular, very good Atmos soundbars from capable audio brands are becoming common and less costly. These are made even more attractive today thanks to Dolby’s support in developing an immense catalog of evergreen music for spatial audio.

SV Staff  |  Jul 16, 2024
Kaleidescape, the Silicon Valley firm that introduced the first dedicated movie server in 2001, today announced a new 4K movie player that supports Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) and lossless audio, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The move addresses the criticism that previous players were limited to the static HDR10 format.
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 15, 2024
“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” George Orwell, 1984
Bob Ankosko  |  Jul 15, 2024
Subwoofers may not be the first thing that come to mind during these mid-summer days (I’m thinking more along the lines of poolside speakers like Soundcore’s Boom 2 party box) but that hasn’t stopped the likes of Klipsch and Starke Sound from offering great deals on some of their bass boxes.
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 12, 2024
In the summer of 1984, two ascending musical forces vaulted themselves into the megastar stratosphere on a parallel tract that would be virtually impossible to duplicate today. Bruce Springsteen upped his own iconography by touring stadiums in support of Born in the U.S.A., a perpetually catchy album whose underlying message actually served to tear down the tenets of the American mythos. At the same time, Prince and The Revolution dominated the charts with Purple Rain, the ostensible soundtrack to the low-budget box-office phenomenon of the same name that chronicled the rise of “The Kid” and his killer Minneapolis-bred band, despite their respective struggles with a myriad of mental and physical obstacles alike.
Bob Ankosko  |  Jul 11, 2024
In case you haven’t heard, the high-resolution music streaming service Tidal will end its support of the MQA and 360 Reality Audio formats in less than two weeks, on July 24.
SV Staff  |  Jul 11, 2024
The era of movie-disc vending machines has officially come to an end.
Mike Mettler  |  Jul 10, 2024
The art of songwriting can sometimes be mysterious, frustrating, and even off-putting, to a certain degree—but when it’s done right, a songwriter can literally teach the world to sing. One such songwriter who has an inherent knack for consistently reaching the masses in a special way is Jesse Colin Young. During a recent Zoom call, Young and music editor Mike Mettler discussed the impetus behind The Perfect Stranger Songwriting Contest, how “Get Together” beat the odds to become an indelible hit, and why he feels “Darkness, Darkness” is among his best-loved—and most covered—songs. . .

Click here to enter The Perfect Stranger Songwriting Contest.

Tom Norton  |  Jul 10, 2024

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $6,000 (system as tested)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Dynamic, powerful sound
Tight, well-defined bass
Crisp detail
Minus
Best with subwoofers

THE VERDICT
SVS has earned a formidable reputation for producing loudspeakers and subwoofers that outperform their reasonable price points. With the new Ultra Evolution range, they’ve more than upheld their past record. While the Ultra Evolution speakers are the company’s priciest offerings to date, most home theater enthusiasts don’t need to win the lottery or take out a second mortgage to at least consider them.

It doesn’t seem all that long ago that SVS first entered the audio scene. But time does fly.

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