LATEST ADDITIONS

Signals
What Is My Stereo’s Gender?
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 27, 2021
Readers will recall, distressingly, that I have tried their patience on just about every topic that marginally relates to audio. LP grooves, CD bumps, flat response, boomy bass, warm recordings, cold binary bits — I have waxed philosophically on all of them. Which bring us to today’s audio topic: gender.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 24, 2021
Picture
Sound
Extras
In what will surely go down in history as a textbook example of a successful online campaign to release a much-wanted movie, the #releasethesnydercut movement ultimately convinced Warner Bros. to complete and distribute director Zack Snyder's original vision for his DC Comics Extended Universe ("DCEU") team-up flick, Justice League. Snyder's departure from the project during production led to the hiring of Joss Whedon to oversee final work on the movie for its November 2017 theatrical debut, writing and directing new scenes on the way to a two-hour cut. That version largely left audiences cold, particularly fans of Snyder's previous DCEU films, despite co-star Gal Gadot's wave of popularity from her Wonder Woman solo film a few months earlier.
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Audio Video News
Fall Review: Best Gear of 2021
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 23, 2021
With the holidays fast approaching and only three months to go before we ring in 2022, it’s a great time to take stock of Sound & Vision’s Top Picks in 2021. We’ve categorized three dozen exemplary A/V products, a third of which can be had for $1,000 or less. Whether you’re in the market for a budget soundbar or a state-of-the-art surround processor, we’ve got you covered. Every A/V category is represented.
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SmartStream
Roku Announces Streaming Stick 4K and Roku OS 10.5
Barb Gonzalez  |  Sep 22, 2021
Roku is upgrading its operating system and has announced plans to release a new Roku Streaming Stick 4K and Roku Streaming Stick 4K+ in October. The new Roku OS 10.5 promises to speed up content retrieval and improve Roku Voice commands in addition to adding wireless surround sound and streamlined audio adjustments.
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Soundbar Reviews
Klipsch Cinema 1200 Soundbar System Review
Rob Sabin  |  Sep 22, 2021

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,899 (Editor’s note: Between the time the review was conducted and when it was posted on September 22, Klipsch increased the system price from $1,699 to $1,899.)

AT A GLANCE
Plus
All-in-one 5.1.4 Atmos system
Stupendous dynamics
Great sound quality with music and movies
Class-leading 12-inch subwoofer
Minus
Ineffective surround processing of stereo music
No mic on remote or bar for Alexa and Google Assistant
No DTS decoding

THE VERDICT
The Klipsch Cinema 1200 is among the least expensive of today's high-end soundbar solutions and over-delivers on both sound quality and value.

Klipsch's new Cinema series soundbars are the latest effort of an iconic, 75-year-old speaker maker to push new performance barriers while delivering a product that is quintessentially, well, Klipsch. There are four systems, each with the real wood cabinetry and the signature Tractrix horn- loaded tweeters that have come to define the brand. These run from the entry-level Cinema 400 ($329), a 40-inch-wide 2.1-channel bar with an 8-inch wireless subwoofer, to the Cinema 1200 ($1,899) reviewed here—a 5.1.4 system with a 54-inch-wide Atmos-enabled bar, a wireless 12-inch sub, and a pair of wireless Atmos- enabled surrounds.

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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Onkyo and Pioneer AV Receivers Get Dirac Live
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 21, 2021
Dirac Live, the sophisticated speaker setup/room correction system developed by Swedish technology company Dirac, is for the first time making its way into the mainstream AV receiver (AVR) brands Onkyo, Integra, and Pioneer Elite.
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Signals
An Exuberance of Loudspeakers
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Sep 20, 2021
Sound System Designer: “How many speakers would you like in this car?”
BMW: “Yes.”

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Music and Soundtrack Features
Apple Music: Spatial Audio Relations
Mike Mettler,  |  Sep 17, 2021
Back in May 2021, Apple significantly boosted the appeal of its Apple Music streaming service with the addition of two new features: Lossless Audio (including high-res versions for some albums and tracks) and Spatial Audio. While the term "Spatial Audio" might indicate that Apple has created a completely new surround sound music format, it's essentially Dolby Atmos—the same immersive, object- based mixing technology used for movie soundtracks.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Amazon TVs on the Way, Sony and LG Win TV Shootout
Bob Ankosko  |  Sep 16, 2021
The world’s largest online retailer just keeps getting bigger and is now seeking to expand its stake in one of America’s favorite pastimes: watching TV.
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Rotel RA-1572MKII Integrated Amplifier Review
Daniel Kumin  |  Sep 15, 2021
Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,099

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Generous power
First-class sound
High-quality fit and finish
Minus
Network connection doesn't support audio
Lacks Wi-Fi, AirPlay wireless streaming

THE VERDICT
Rotel's MKII version of its RA-1572 integrated amp delivers impressive power and transparent sound with digital and analog sources but lacks the comprehensive streaming features found on similar designs from other manufacturers.

True story. My very first hi-fi system featured a Rotel integrated amplifier—if memory serves, a model RA-20 of some 20 watts per channel. I bought it brand new for around $60 from K&L Sound in Watertown, Massachusetts, with money saved from my after-school job building shelves, sweeping floors, and punching holes in sheet- metal panels that would become the very first ARP synthesizers. (The late Alan R. Pearlman was my next-door neighbor and a lovely, kind, brilliant guy.)

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