Geoffrey Morrison

Projector Reviews
InFocus ScreenPlay 7200 DLP Projector
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 09, 2003  |  Published: Aug 01, 2003
This projector's so bright, you've gotta wear shades.

18.1 foot-lamberts. This light output would be impressive for any front projector. What makes it amazing is that I measured 18.1 ft-L on a 7.5-foot-wide (100-inch-diagonal) Grayhawk screen with a 0.9 gain. If you were to use this projector on a 6-foot-wide (82.5-inch-diagonal) Studiotek 130 screen (which has a gain of +1.3), you'd get an almost-blinding 48.6 ft-L. With that kind of light output, you'd be able to use a screen larger than 12 feet wide (165 inches diagonally) and still have a bright, watchable image. And that's in the low-power mode.

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Bookshelf Speaker Reviews
War of the (Little) Worlds
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jun 27, 2003  |  Published: Jun 28, 2003
Four speaker systems. One verdict. Five hungry editors.

Two Californians, a Canadian, and an Israeli walk into a bar. No, wait. It was an apothecary. Two Californians, a Canadian, and an Israeli walk into an apothecary. They say, "Ow." No. They order a drink. No. They make speakers. Yes. That's it, they make speakers, and we've gathered their sub/sat systems together here: the PSB Alpha B from the great white north, the Morel Spiro from the other side of the planet, and NHT and M&K systems from what many people consider to be a different planet. They range in price from just under $1,400 to just over $1,900. To make things interesting in this land of reality TV shows, we will ceremoniously eat the loser of this Face Off. Next on Fox: When Hungry Editors Attack. Intrigued? So am I, and I already know how it ends.

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Sony Grand Wega KF-50XBR800 LCD HD Monitor
Geoffrey Morrison  |  May 12, 2003  |  Published: May 13, 2003
Funny name; serious TV.

Sony insists that I pronounce this TV's name correctly: Wega (Vay-guh). I think Wegg-ah is so much more amusing. Perhaps Wee-ga. If only Sony had gone all out and put an "e" at the end of Grand. I can hear the annoyance of salespeople everywhere as customers come in looking for one of them thar Grand-ee Wee-gas. It's too bad that the rest of the model nomenclature is hard to poke fun at. After all, how funny is KF-50XBR800? KF-50Exburrerr… never mind. Names aside, the TV itself is very hard to make fun of. Mostly.

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Tower Speaker Reviews
Polk LSi Speaker System
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Apr 09, 2003  |  Published: Apr 10, 2003
Speakers everywhere: towering gloss-black monoliths in the front, triangles on the sides, and rectangles in the center and back. Polk's LSi speaker system can technically be a 7.3 system, as the powered towers can double as subs. If you're in the mood to count, this system has 27 drivers, including nine tweeters, with 465 watts spread between 40 inches of woofer. That's a lot of drivers. But don't be afraid; the inside isn't full of stars. This system is modular enough that you can break it down into as many or as few pieces as you—or your wallet—see fit.
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Tower Speaker Reviews
Miller & Kreisel 850 Series
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jan 01, 2003  |  Published: Jan 02, 2003
M&K's latest delicacy brings out the sweetness in a film soundtrack.

Am I the only one who finds it strange that the maple tree and maple syrup are two very different colors? I bet I am. Ketchup and tomatoes are the same color, and most jellies and jams are the same color as the fruit they're made from. Mustard looks like…the mustard plant? OK, forget that last one.

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Other Source Component Reviews
Sony DVP-NS755V Progressive-Scan DVD/SACD Player
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Dec 19, 2002  |  Published: Dec 20, 2002
Upping the ante.

Thanks to consumer interest, competition, and their fundamental coolness, high-resolution audio players are falling in price to a point where almost everyone can afford them. Sony's DVP-NS755V, for example, is only $250, and it features SACD capability and progressive scanning. A year ago, this player's predecessor excited us as an inexpensive progressive-scan DVD player. Now Sony ups the ante by adding SACD and keeping the price the same.

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Other Source Component Reviews
Zenith DVB216 Progressive-Scan DVD Player
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 02, 2002  |  Published: Sep 03, 2002
Zenith's DVB216 DVD player has a refreshingly different aesthetic and a refreshingly low price.

Sure, a mirror reference was the obvious route to go with the intro. After all, how many DVD players do you know that sport a fully mirrored front panel? Still, I'll try to keep the analogies to a minimum.

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Other Source Component Reviews
Samsung DVD-P421 Progressive-Scan DVD Player
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Aug 05, 2002  |  Published: Aug 06, 2002
Few things have dropped in price as quickly as DVD players. Less than a year ago, progressive-scan models like this one would have cost over $1,000. Now, you can find the Samsung DVD-P421 progressive-scan player for well under $200.
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Other Source Component Reviews
SONICblue ReplayTV RTV4000 PVR
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jun 11, 2002  |  Published: Jun 12, 2002
�ReplayTV goes online.

At first glance, this appears to be yet another review of yet another PVR. Sure, this PVR looks a little cooler and seems a bit newer, but take a closer look at the back panel. There amongst all of the inputs you'd expect to see is an Ethernet connection. ReplayTV and new owner SONICblue have pushed the PVR to the next level: the Internet.

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Home Theater Systems Reviews
Face Off: HTIB 4U
Geoffrey Morrison  |  May 09, 2002  |  Published: May 10, 2002
Can home theater really be simplified into one box?

A home theater in a box? Can it really be that simple? Do you really get everything you need in one package? HTIBs are huge sellers. Some complete systems sell for less than $500, and others cost more than $2,500. We gathered three that fall somewhere in the middle: the JBL Cinema ProPack600, the Sony DAV-C900, and the Unity, codeveloped by Kenwood and Boston Acoustics. All three retail for $1,200, but you should be able to find them for a bit less. Promising free ice cream, I gathered the usual suspects to participate in the Face Off: audio editor Chris Lewis, executive editor Adrienne Maxwell, copy editor Claire Lloyd, and the ubiquitous Ron Williams, our technical consultant. Much was voiced about the ruse of free ice cream, which was a lie.

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