LATEST ADDITIONS

Music Reviews
Yes: The Yes Album – Super Deluxe Edition Box Set
Mike Mettler  |  May 30, 2024
Performances
Sound

Because of his close association with Yes’ signature sound, guitarist Steve Howe is assumed to have been a member of the British progressive giants from the outset — but he only came aboard with the five-man band’s third studio release, February 1971’s The Yes Album. Though his fretboard predecessor, Peter Banks (who later co-founded the prog-adjacent ’70s outfit Flash), foreshadowed the aural adventurism to come on July 1969’s Yes and July 1970’s Time and a Word, it was The Yes Album that cemented the wide-ranging, time-signature challenging sonic template for one of the most forward-thinking progressive acts of the past six decades.

Continue Reading »
Integrated Amp Reviews
WiiM Amp Review: Value-Priced Multi-Room Audio
Barb Gonzalez  |  May 29, 2024

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $299

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri
Equalizer settings for each input
Can input/output Bluetooth and AirPlay
Uses passive speakers you may already own
Minus
No way to see the input or what song is playing
Could be easier to navigate with fewer clicks/taps
No headphone jack
No Bluetooth aptX for streaming hi-res audio

THE VERDICT
The reasonably priced WiiM Amp is the perfect device to leverage a house full of speakers to create a multi-room sound system. You may have Alexa, Google, or Apple HomePods. Or, passive speakers connected to other WiiM devices. This amp makes it easy to control streaming from the most popular music services anywhere in your home.

Many of us use smart speakers throughout our homes. They control everything from lights to microwaves and washing machines. Usually, these are inexpensive devices like the Amazon Echo, which are not optimal for music listening. But they are perfect for controlling more capable smart speakers and amps.

Continue Reading »
SmartStream
Comcast Now Offers Netflix, Apple TV+ and Peacock Bundle
Barb Gonzalez  |  May 29, 2024
Comcast is offering a discounted streaming bundle to Xfinity internet and TV subscribers in an attempt to win back some of the millions of users who have cut the cord in the past six months. What are the details of the deal and why are these competitors are now becoming partners?
Continue Reading »
Audio Video News
SVS to Demo New Ultra Evolution Series Speakers in Philadelphia on Thursday
SV Staff  |  May 28, 2024
SVS is hosting one of the first public demonstrations of its new flagship Ultra Evolution Series speakers at World Wide Stereo in metro Philadelphia on Thursday (May 30th)
Continue Reading »
A/V Veteran
Music Hath Charms
Tom Norton  |  May 28, 2024
The quotation "To soothe the savage breast" from William Congreve (1629-1670) reads in its entirety, "Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks, or bend the knotted oak." Congreve might have been on to more than he realized.
Continue Reading »
Sponsored
Sound & Vision Is Celebrating Klipsch's Collaboration with Marvel Animation's X-Men '97, Now Streaming on Disney+
SV Staff  |  May 24, 2024
As the official home speaker of X-Men '97, Klipsch is hosting a sweepstakes giving away a prize package (valued at $544) that includes a custom vinyl-wrapped X-Men '97-themed Flexus Core 200 Sound bar featuring Cyclops graphics, with a 3-month Disney+ Basic subscription and X-Men '97 poster. This special edition sound bar will not be sold at retail, it is only available as a sweepstakes prize. Open to US residents only - click the photo above to enter.
Continue Reading »
Ultra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Footloose (1984)
Ralph Potts  |  May 24, 2024
Picture
Sound
Extras

Upon its release 40 years ago, Footloose thrilled audiences with its spirited dancing, electrifying soundtrack and inspiring story about a Chicago city-boy, Ren McCormick, who arrives in an uptight small town where dancing has been banned due to its potentially sexual influence on the minds of its teenaged residents. Ren quickly falls for the minister’s daughter, but his love for music and dancing gets him into hot water equally fast, not only with the town leaders but a local hard case with a score to settle.

Continue Reading »
Shows
AXPONA 2024 Rewind: Fidelity Imports, Dreammedia, Perlisten, Primare, QED, Titan Audio
Dennis Young  |  May 23, 2024
Subwoofers remain a relatively rare sight at high-end two-channel shows, however they are appearing more frequently. But at last month's AXPONA 2024, Perlisten shook things up with the debut of its R18S subwoofer.
Continue Reading »
Shows
AXPONA 2024 Rewind: Paducah Home Theater, Seaton Sound, Klipsch
Dennis Young  |  May 23, 2024
At last Month's AXPONA 2024 audio show, there were a lot of systems to appeal to the two-channel high-end crowd, the sort of systems Stereophile covers. And while this system is indeed a high-end two-channel rig, the subwoofer from Seaton Sound caught our attention.

What initially brought me into this room was the little-known information I had armed myself with before the show: the introduction of a new subwoofer, a joint venture between Seaton Sound and Paducah Home Theater.

Continue Reading »
Audio Video NewsNew Products
Teac Announces Small but Mighty All-in-One DAC/Preamp/Headphone Amp
 |  May 23, 2024
Teac has announced plans to ship a compact preamp featuring a high-performance USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier early this summer.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X