LATEST ADDITIONS

PRICE $1,499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Punchy, music-friendly sonics
Flexible speaker configuration options
HEOS wireless streaming
Minus
Limited custom installation features
Non-backlit remote

THE VERDICT
Marantz’s SR6014 proves that an A/V receiver can deliver both great music performance and the latest home theater audio formats, all at an affordable price.

Marantz has been a premium audio brand for more than 65 years, so it makes sense that the company's A/V receivers focus squarely on audio performance, rather than racking up loads of home theater bells and whistles only a few will use. But while it's clear that Marantz's offerings tip the scale a bit more toward music enthusiasts than the custom installation scene, the new SR6014 isn't some stripped-down product aimed at hair shirt-wearing audiophiles. Instead, it's a bang-up-to-date home theater receiver that ticks off all the boxes for most-wanted surround sound features.

Subwoofer/speaker specialist SVS today announced a series of free home theater and hi-fi audio events in five cities.

PRICE $299

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Outstanding sound from compact solution
Ample dynamics for a broad range of headphones
Minus
96kHz maximum PCM sampling rate
Requires extra-cost adapter for use with Apple Lightning devices

THE VERDICT
AudioQuest's Headphone amp/DAC-on-a-stick offers sonics to rival standard-size components.

Listeners tend to consider an external digital-to-analog converter as either completely unnecessary or absolutely essential. If you believe bits is bits, you're probably perfectly happy with the converter inside your smartphone, tablet, or computer. If you don't, you likely have auditioned many a converter component with a seriously gimlet ear. Both tribes, however, can agree that the headphone amps in most smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops leave a lot to be desired when it comes to peak output, dynamics, and inherent sonic quality.

Marvel has undeniably defined the modern comic book movie universe. As a consequence, much of Shazam!, the latest effort from rival DC, feels clichéd, and not just by superhero standards. Good young protagonists facing adversity, otherworldly forces granting extraordinary abilities, bullies who ultimately get theirs— it's all here. Shazam! even borders on outright theft with an end credit sequence straight out of Spider-Man: Homecoming.