LATEST ADDITIONS

Signals
Porky's Prime Cuts
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 04, 2021
When it was first introduced, digital audio was criticized as sounding “cold” or “sterile.” I vehemently disagreed. What some listeners heard as cold, I heard as a lack of distortion. Even after all these years, I suppose that's something we can still debate. But digital audio is indeed cold and sterile. Not the sound quality - the fact that it isn't nearly as funky, quirky, and weird as analog audio. Which brings us to George Peckham.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
First Cow
Al Griffin  |  Dec 31, 2020
Picture
Sound
Extras
"It's the getting started that's the puzzle—no way for a poor man to start. You need capital. Or you need some kind of miracle. Or a crime." These words, uttered by King-Lu, a Chinese immigrant seeking fortune in the mid-19th century Oregon Territory, set forth a series of events leading to a business selling baked goods to the hardscrabble inhabitants of Fort Tillicum. King-Lu's partner in the venture—which originates from a crime, as opposed to capital or a miracle—is Otis Figowitz, a mild-mannered cook also trying to carve out a future among the fort's traders and trappers.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Good Riddance 2020: New Gear for a New Year
Bob Ankosko  |  Dec 31, 2020
Ringing in the New Year has new meaning as we say good riddance to a year besieged by a deadly virus and transition to what we all hope will be a fresh start in 2021 — new beginnings without tragic loss, social isolation, and economic devastation. While you contemplate the better world that awaits us, here’s a peek at the latest news and products AV companies have to offer.
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AV Receiver Reviews
Yamaha RX-V6A 7.2-channel A/V Receiver Review
Michael Trei  |  Dec 30, 2020

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $600

AT A GLANCE
Plus
HDMI 2.1-ready (via firmware update)
Versatile speaker switching
Built-in phono preamp
Minus
Small front panel and onscreen displays
Lacks analog video connections

THE VERDICT
Yamaha's latest mid-priced A/V receiver promises—and delivers—cutting-edge features at an unprecedented price.

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A/V Veteran
The Benefits of Bigscreen TVs Over Projectors
Thomas J. Norton  |  Dec 29, 2020
A video projector has long been the gold standard for achieving the true theater experience at home. It still is, but there are limitations to projectors that can compromise the big screen experience with today’s best source material.

The relatively limited brightness a projector offers becomes more significant as the size of the screen and the demands of the source material increase. Unlike in the past, where the desire for ever bigger screens could be satisfied (more or less) even by a less than wallet-choking projector, HDR demands far more peak brightness than standard dynamic range...Flat screen TVs in jumbo sizes have become increasingly common lately, at prices far less intimidating than before. A decent LCD/LED, 85-inch 4K set can be had for under $3500.

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CES 2021New Products
LG To Introduce QNED Mini-LED TVs
SV Staff  |  Dec 29, 2020
The Virtual CES 2021 TV news is starting to roll in. First up, LG, which has announced it will release a series of “QNED” Mini-LED TVs as its 2021 LCD TV lineup’s flagship offering. There will be 10 new 4K and 8K Mini-LED models in all, with screen sizes up to 86 inches.
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Signals
The Rapture of the Rumble
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 28, 2020
Because everything must be controversial, I am going to be controversial. This blog discusses God, politics, climate change, and Enzo Ferrari. Furthermore, if it causes lightning to strike you, so be it.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Ghost in the Shell
Roger Kanno  |  Dec 24, 2020
Picture
Sound
Extras
Mamoro Oshii's beautiful and unsettling anime film, Ghost in the Shell, has been released on Ultra HD Blu-ray to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Based on Masamune Shirow's cyberpunk manga, the film explores themes of existence, and humanity in a technologically advanced world where people are cybernetically enhanced or have their bodies entirely replaced by cybernetics. One such cyborg is the film's protagonist, Major Motoko Kusanagi, who questions her own reality as she battles with the mysterious Puppet Master who hacks not only computers, but also humans.
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Vintage Gear
Long Live the JBL 4412 Studio Monitor!
Bob Ankosko  |  Dec 24, 2020
In this edition of Sound & Vision’s Audio Time Machine, we highlight the JBL 4412 studio monitor, a mid-’80s evolution of famous 4300 Series monitors that once dominated recording studios.
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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
Bowers & Wilkins 607 S2 Anniversary Edition Loudspeaker
Daniel Kumin  |  Dec 23, 2020

Performance
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $700/pair

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Good bass extension
Excellent midrange balance and accuracy
Pluggable port yields flexible placement and performance
Impressive fit and finish
Minus
Slightly bright sound with some recordings

THE VERDICT
This anniversary edition Bowers & Wilkins compact bookshelf combines good looks with intelligently balanced sound.

There are quite literally hundreds of small, two-way loudspeakers you can buy priced from under $100 to well north of $10,000 per pair. To this throng British stalwart Bowers & Wilkins now adds the 607 S2 Anniversary Edition (the anniversary commemorated is the company's launch of its first 600 Series designs 25 years ago). Whether or not the world desperately needs another small two-way may be up for debate, but B&W's authority to add one is not: the ranks of fine small speakers marching forth from the south coast of the UK over the past half-century has been illustrious.

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