Scott Wilkinson

Premiere Design
Tidal Sunray Tower Speaker
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 02, 2010

Most of the products on display at CES are new to the world market, but there are a few exceptions. For example, the Sunray speaker from Germany's <A href="http://tidal-audio.com/english/startenglish.htm">Tidal Audio</A> has been available for several years, but not in the USA&#151;until now. North American distributor <A href="http://www.aaudioimports.com">Aaudio Imports</A> used CES 2010 as the venue to introduce the Sunray to the American audiophile community.

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The Big Picture
Calling All Panny Owners
Scott Wilkinson  |  Mar 01, 2010

This whole Panasonic plasma black-level thing really bugs me, and I'm not alone. Shoppers are shying away from Panny plasmas because they just don't know if the black level will increase significantly after months or years of use, and frankly, neither do I. In an effort to learn as much as possible about the phenomenon, I turn to you, our readers, for help. To anyone who owns a 2008 or 2009 Panasonic plasma, I pose the following question:

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Audio Video News
Panasonic 2010 Product Showcase
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 26, 2010

Panasonic just finished a bi-coastal press briefing about its 2010 lineup of TVs, Blu-ray players, HTIBs (home-theater-in-a-box systems), and soundbars, but 3D was conspicuously absent. In fact, we were told that the company would be back in the late Spring or early Summer with more specifics about its 3D offerings.

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Premiere Design
McIntosh MVP881 Universal Blu-ray Player
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 25, 2010

Considering all the recent brouhaha about the $3500 Lexicon BD-30 actually being a rebranded Oppo BDP-83 (list price $500), I was suspicious when I saw a CES press release introducing the MVP881 universal disc player from <A href="http://www.mcintoshlabs.com">McIntosh Laboratory</A>. But then I read that the MVP881 uses the HQV Realta video processor, whereas the Oppo/Lexicon uses VRS from Anchor Bay, so it can't be another more-expensive knock-off.

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Ask S&V
3D Projectors, HDMI Problems, Skipping Commercials
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 24, 2010
Projecting 3D
I know that this was the year of 3D displays at CES, but all of those were LCDs and plasmas. Has there been any word from projector manufacturers producing 3D-ready home-theater projectors? I'm sure the effect will be much more spectacular than any flat panel.
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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 10: Kevin Voecks
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 23, 2010  |  Published: Feb 24, 2010
Kevin Voecks, Director of Product Development for Harman's High-Performance A/V division (including Revel, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, and JBL Synthesis), discusses his background as chief engineer at Mirage and Snell, the ins and outs of speaker design and testing, subwoofer placement, room correction, and more.

Run Time: 1:10:07

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Premiere Design
Veloce LS-1 Battery-Powered Preamp
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 23, 2010

AC power has long been the bugaboo of high-end audio&#151;necessary to power the electronics, but prone to polluting the audio signal path with unwanted noise. American boutique manufacturer <A href="http://www.veloceaudio.us">Veloce Audio</A> has come up with a unique and elegant solution to this problem in its LS-1 vacuum-tube preamp&#151;put the power supply and audio electronics in completely separate boxes and run the electronics with a rechargeable battery.

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Premiere Design
Snell Phantom Speakers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 22, 2010

At CES last January, <A href="http://www.snellacoustics.com">Snell Acoustics</A> announced the availability of its Phantom B7 speaker, which was first shown at CES 2009. What makes the Phantom B7 special? It's engineered to provide much of the performance of the company's flagship Illusion A7 at a fraction of the price and size.

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LCD TV Reviews
Sharp LC-60E77UN LCD HDTV
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 22, 2010
Price: $3,000 At A Glance: Great color and detail • Excellent video processing • Mild-mannered frame interpolation • Mediocre blacks and shadow detail

A Worthy Contender

Many companies have gotten into the LCD HDTV game over the last few years, hoping to capitalize on the high demand for flat panels. But most are newcomers compared with Sharp, which was one of the first companies to offer LCD TVs in Japan back in 1988. Since then, Sharp has remained ahead of the curve in terms of manufacturing and environmental concerns. It has invested billions of dollars in new plants and processes.

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Premiere Design
HD-ACC Scalable Audio Codec
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 19, 2010

Data compression is probably the single most important factor in the meteoric success of digital audio, especially when it comes to online downloads and portable players like the iPod. Lossy compression formats such as MP3 discard as much as 90 percent of the original data&#151;hence the term "lossy"&#151;so that music tracks can be quickly downloaded. In addition, such files require very little memory, allowing thousands of songs to be stored in a device no bigger than a matchbook.

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