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Qobuz Promises Hi-Res Audio Streaming
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 10, 2018  | 
We audiophiles hate streaming because it's all just low-res junk, right? Tidal hasn't been awesome enough so we hate that too and we're just going to sit in our rooms and sulk and not listen to anything at all because it all just sucks. But Qobuz is knocking gently on our bedroom door....

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Receiving the Zombie Apocalypse
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 12, 2021  | 
Those poor dumb bastards didn't make it. But you did. At least so far. Every night, when the Zeke's come out to play, it gets pretty intense – all alone in your basement, crouching in the darkness. If only there was some way to connect to the outside world. There must be other survivors, but where are they? Fortunately, you remember a blog you once read.

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Redbox Renters Beware: Mystery of the Missing Audio Track
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 24, 2015  | 
When you buy a Blu-ray Disc for $25, you expect the very best quality. When you rent a Blu-ray for $2, do you still expect the best? Or would the budget pricing lower your expectations? Do you simply assume that the bits comprising a rental movie are the same as the retail movie? You might be surprised to learn that not all bits are created equal. And therein lies a mystery.
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Remembering a Remarkable Man
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jun 13, 2022  | 
I’d like to tell you about Thomas Yuen, former chairman and CEO of SRS Labs, who died earlier this year at the age of 70. I didn’t know him well, but he made a tremendous impression on me.
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Remembering the Time When that Radio Station Bricked Your Car’s Radio
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 13, 2023  | 
Has this ever happened to you? You’re cruising down the boulevard, listening to your favorite music on your favorite radio station, then suddenly your infotainment system goes dead. WTH? If you were driving a Mazda, this might sound all too familiar.
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Reporter’s Notebook: Reflecting on 2014 CES
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Apr 22, 2014  | 
Editor’s Note: The following article appears in the May 2014 print edition of Sound & Vision.

How Was Your Day?

Friday afternoon, McCarran Airport. The International CES ends today. Some bitter-enders are still at the convention center, but for me, the show is over. With a mixture of relief and regret, I toss my press pass into a recycling bin. As I wait for my boarding call, I pull out some notes, trying to make sense of what just happened.

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Revenge Spending
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 08, 2021  | 
I hate Covid. You hate Covid. We all hate Covid. But we love home theater. That creates the circumstances for an interesting scenario that economists refer to as “revenge spending.”

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Review: Wren V3US and V3USP Wireless Speakers
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Nov 22, 2016  | 
In a world overcrowded with wireless speakers, Wren is carving out a niche and a name for itself as a higher-end alternative to plastic me-too models. The older Wren V5PF12 model has long been a favorite speaker in my office, so when pre-production samples of two new models became available, I jumped at the chance to audition them.

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Road Gear
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jul 14, 2011  | 

I have two cars but only a one-car garage. As you might expect, my favorite car (a red 1968 Porsche 911 Targa) gets the garage. Plus, since it’s vintage, it deserves indoor parking. From a performance standpoint, that car is still impressive. It’s lightweight, with lots of horsepower, and since the laws of physics haven’t changed in the last 4 decades, it can blow away most modern cars.

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Rock 'n' Roll Resurrection
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 09, 2018  | 
Roy Orbison died 30 years ago. He kicked off a concert tour last week.

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Rock and Roll Can Never Die. (Or Can It?)
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Jan 21, 2014  | 
“My my, hey hey. Rock and roll is here to stay. It's better to burn out than to fade away. My my, hey hey. Out of the blue and into the black. They give you this, but you pay for that. And once you're gone, you can never come back. When you're out of the blue, and into the black. Hey hey, my my. Rock and roll can never die.”

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Roman Chariots, Space Shuttles, Fire Hydrants, and Lightning
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  May 09, 2022  | 
Personally, I do not believe the oft-told story that the width of the solid rocket boosters for the Space Shuttle were based on the standard width of two Roman war horses. But, the story does remind us of the importance of standards, and how they affect our lives in ways that are great and small.

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Sansui, and Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Oct 21, 2019  | 
Some stories tell you about one thing. The good ones are entertaining and/or accurate. But the very best stories are multi-layered, fitting small pictures into big pictures, with one brilliantly informing the other to show deeper meanings. To demonstrate what I mean, I'd like to show you a YouTube video posted last week, and a figurative map drawn in1869.

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Saving Hi-Res Audio
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  May 19, 2015  | 
Hi-res audio is having problems. Not your garden-variety problems. These are the life threateningproblems. Where do I begin? Well, Neil Young used Kickstarter to raise $6 million to fund his Pono project and deliver it into the hands of music enthusiasts. Good for him. Good for music. Good for hi-res playback. Of course, nothing is ever that simple.

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Scratched and Dented: Tales from Black Friday
Ken C. Pohlmann  |  Dec 02, 2014  | 
It is the patriotic duty of every American man, woman, and child to go shopping for a TV on Black Friday. After spending most of Thursday up-armoring me and my vehicle, I went to a Best Buy on Friday morning. Two observations: First, I lived to tell about it. Second, it takes about 20 minutes for the ambulance to drive from the Best Buy to the nearest ER.

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