David Vaughn

Blu-ray Movie Reviews
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
David Vaughn  |  Sep 02, 2016
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Sound
Extras
The film begins with the words, “This is a true story,” not based on one. The screenplay by Chuck Hogan (based on the book from Mitchell Zuckoff) steers mostly clear of the politics surrounding the attack and tells the story from the perspective of the people who were on the ground on September 11, 2012 in Benghazi. Regardless of the politics, four Americans lost their lives that night; Ambassador Chris Stevens, information officer Sean Smith, and two CIA operatives, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods, both former Navy SEALs who were civilian contractors working out of a secret CIA annex near the U.S. diplomatic compound.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The 5th Wave
David Vaughn  |  Aug 26, 2016
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Earth is being reshaped by mysterious alien invaders. Their first wave took out electricity, the second caused earthquakes and tsunamis, the third was a virus leading to mass death, the fourth is the invasion of the planet, and the fifth…you’ll have to see the movie—no spoilers from me!
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Subwoofer ReviewsAccessory Reviews
SVS SoundPath Subwoofer Isolation System Review
David Vaughn  |  Aug 09, 2016

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $50

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Easy to install
Tames unwanted vibrations
Minus
Why aren’t these standard issue?

THE VERDICT
If you have touchy neighbors who complain about vibrations from your subwoofer, you need these in your system.

I love bass, always have, always will. The same can’t be said for my wife, who constantly tells me, “Turn it down. You’re going to wake the dead, or worse, go deaf!” Part of my problem is that my home rests on a raised foundation with a wood subfloor underneath my carpet, which means my dual-subwoofer setup transmits plenty of vibrations from the subwoofer to the floor, which then resonate through the rest of the house. In fact, on certain low-frequency scenes in movies, you can literally see my windows vibrating. But is this really a problem?

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Concussion
David Vaughn  |  Jul 29, 2016
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Football Hall of Famer Mike Webster of the Pittsburg Steelers won four Super Bowl rings throughout his 17-year NFL career. He retired in 1990 and was enshrined seven years later, but his life would go downhill from there: Five years later, he was dead from a heart attack. The sad story would have stopped there if it weren’t for a junior pathologist in the Allegheny coroner’s office whose relentless search to know why led to the discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. As more cases came to his attention, this Nigerian-born doctor took on one of the most powerful institutions in the world—the NFL.
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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
The Revenant
David Vaughn  |  Jul 22, 2016
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Extras
Leading a fur expedition in the early 1800s, frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is left for dead by one of his companions who is afraid of being attacked by Native Americans. Somehow Glass survives and begins to hobble back toward civilization, facing many obstacles, looking to exact revenge.
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Subwoofer Reviews
RSL Speakers Speedwoofer 10S Subwoofer Review
David Vaughn  |  Jun 22, 2016

Performance
Features
Build Quality
Value
PRICE $399

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Exemplary value
Clean, punchy bass
Optional wireless transmitter works like a charm
Minus
Doesn’t go quite as deep as the big boys

THE VERDICT
When I heard I was going to review a budget $399 subwoofer, I dreaded the month I’d miss my reference subs. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

There are two things that I really love in life. The first is the entrepreneurial spirit that grows within someone and inspires them to take a chance with an idea, create a company, and do their best to make it succeed. The second is great bass. As longtime readers know, I’m a bass-oholic—and if my wife would let me, I’d have four (or more) subwoofers in my media room, because there’s no such thing as too much bass!

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
In the Heart of the Sea
David Vaughn  |  Jun 17, 2016
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Moby Dick is considered one of the great American novels. Most don’t know—I sure didn’t—that the book was based on the true events that took place in the winter of 1820 when the whaling ship Essex left the port of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and sailed around the tip of South America looking for prey. While in a South American port, they hear a tale of a mammoth whale that can be found in the Pacific, so they venture dangerously far from land and get a lot more than they bargained for when they find that said whale has a vengeance against humanity.
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Power Amplifier Reviews
Monoprice Monolith 7 Amplifier Review
David Vaughn  |  Jun 01, 2016

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $1,499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Class A/B design
Impressive sound quality
Equal power to all channels
Minus
Very heavy
Lacks balanced inputs

THE VERDICT
At $1,499, this amp is an incredible steal. While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of its more expensive competition, it still offers a helluva view.

My introduction to Monoprice happened about 10 years ago when I needed some interconnects for a system I had designed for someone on a tight budget. I’d read how great a value the company’s offerings were and decided to take the leap. Not only was my friend happy to save a few bucks from the store brands, he didn’t sacrifice any of the quality, either. From day one, the interconnects worked like a charm. Since then, Monoprice has been my go-to source for home theater cables.

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Blu-ray Movie Reviews
Straight Outta Compton
David Vaughn  |  May 27, 2016
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This is the true story of the rise of N.W.A., a Compton, California rap group who changed the musical landscape in the late 1980s with their blend of dope beats and hard-hitting lyrics about life in South Central L.A. Collaboration between Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Easy-E led to the hit release of Boyz in the Hood, which caught the ear of music manager Jerry Heller, who helped the group sign with Priority Records. Their first studio album, Straight Outta Compton, featured their controversial song “F*** the Police,” describing the reality of being a black man in L.A. in the 1980s.
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3D Blu-ray Movie ReviewsBlu-ray Movie Reviews
Pan
David Vaughn  |  May 06, 2016
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3D-ness
Sound
Extras
Peter is an orphaned 12-year-old whose rebellious ways constantly have him in hot water with the nuns running his orphanage. Although he’s never met his mother, he knows there’s something special about himself, and he dreams of a better life. One night, he’s whisked away to Neverland where he finds adventure, danger, and the mystery of his mother’s heritage. With the help of the warrior Tiger Lily and his newfound friend James Hook, Peter must overcome the meddlesome Blackbeard in order to save Neverland and fulfill his destiny.
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