LATEST ADDITIONS

Audio Video NewsNew Products
Focal Expands In-Wall/Ceiling Speaker Line
SV Staff  |  Feb 19, 2018
Focal has introduced a new seven-model series of entry-level in-wall/ceiling speaker series at prices ranging from $149 to $449, and announced plans to add three models to its mid-priced 300 Series. The 100 Series is available now and the 300 Series is due out in May.
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Audio Video NewsNew Products
Acer: ‘World’s Smallest 3000 Lumens Laser 4K Projector’ Now Available in U.S.
SV Staff  |  Feb 19, 2018
Acer America has announced U.S. availability of “the world’s smallest 4K Ultra HD (UHD) 3000 lumens laser projector,” designed to deliver “laser-quality visuals in a wide range of environments,” including home theater.
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Headphone ReviewsGrace Notes
Soul X-Shock True Wireless Earphones for Endurance Junkies
Leslie Shapiro  |  Feb 19, 2018
Cable cutters are all the rage these days; even headphones have become completely and totally free from cables. The new X-Shock earphones from Soul Electronics are absolutely wireless, even for charging. For marathon listening sessions, the X-Shock has up to 60 hours of charging capabilities between the earphone and portable charging box.

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New Products
Sennheiser Ambeo Smart Headset
Bob Ankosko  |  Feb 17, 2018  |  First Published: Feb 16, 2018
You’ve no doubt heard of smart speakers—and you may even own one—but have you heard of smart headphones? It’s not quite a thing just yet, but Sennheiser—the family-owned German company that has been making microphones since 1946 and invented the first on-ear, open-air headphones (the iconic HD414) in 1968—has developed an intriguing product that draws on its expertise in both areas. The Ambeo Smart Headset does something no other headphones we know of can do: It captures 3D audio for videos you shoot on your phone.
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Audio Video News
Microsoft, Sony Announce Gaming Deals
SV Staff  |  Feb 16, 2018
Gaming just got a little cheaper. At least for the next week or two...
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Warm Bodies
David Vaughn  |  Feb 16, 2018
Picture
Sound
Extras
This is the classic story of boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, girl wakes up one day and realizes she loves boy and can’t live without him. Will daddy approve? Not likely since the boy comes from the group that daddy is trying to wipe off the face of the Earth, so the young couple must overcome long odds to live happily ever after. Although there’s a twist here that you don’t often see—the boy is a zombie who can’t even remember his name other than it begins with an R.
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Blu-ray Movie ReviewsUltra HD Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Batman and Harley Quinn
Chris Chiarella  |  Feb 16, 2018
Picture
Sound
Extras
Sometimes even Batman can’t go it alone. When Poison Ivy teams with an evil alien plant-man for a scheme that could doom every human being on the planet, he first turns to Nightwing (sidekick Robin, now all grown up), but even that’s not enough. Their best hope of stopping these baddies in time is to team with Ivy’s lone confidante, Harley Quinn.
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Audio Video News
Tech Tidbits February 2018
SV Staff  |  Feb 16, 2018
News briefs from the world of home and mobile entertainment.
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Audio Video News
Periodic to Launch Mini Amp & Conduct Free Headphone Tests at CanJam
SV Staff  |  Feb 15, 2018
Periodic Audio will launch its first portable amplifier at the CanJam headphone show that opens at New York City’s Marriott Marquis on Saturday.
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Media Server Reviews
Elac Discovery DS-S101-G Music Server Review
Al Griffin  |  Feb 15, 2018

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,100

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Free app from Roon Labs
Wired and wireless multiroom playback options
Impressive sound from built-in DAC
Minus
Track count limited to 30,000
Requires wired LAN connection

THE VERDICT
Elac’s Discovery provides a simple, elegant option for adding a networked music server with Roon to an existing audio system.

Before diving into a review of Elac’s Discovery DS-S101-G music server, it seems apt to ask: What is a music server? In the past, it was a standalone audio component with a built-in hard disk that stored and played a ripped CD collection while connecting to the internet to fetch metadata. While products that fit this description still exist, a music server can also be something as basic as a software application running on a computer or on a network-attached storage (NAS) appliance. The server application, wherever it may reside, acts as a librarian for your digital audio files, sorting and retrieving them, and then routing the data to a USB DAC or a networked audio component that translates the ones and zeros into music.

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