Al Griffin

Editor's EyeWide Angle
Magnepan’s Flagship Loudspeaker Hits the Road
Al Griffin  |  Jul 30, 2019
Road trips are a common enough activity in the U.S., but most, if not all, drivers leave their loudspeakers behind. Not Wendell Diller. The marketing mind behind Magnepan hit the road earlier this year with the company’s 30.7 Magneplanar loudspeaker, a flagship model, in tow. The plan? To visit every one of the company’s U.S. dealers and demo the new $30,000/pair loudspeaker.
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Projector Reviews
Epson Home Cinema 5050UB Pro-UHD 3LCD Projector Review
Al Griffin  |  Jul 18, 2019

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $2,999

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Extended color
Excellent brightness and contrast
Great value
Minus
Fan noise with High Power Consumption setting active

THE VERDICT
Epson’s latest UltraBlack model delivers impressive image quality with both standard and Ultra HD/HDR sources at an equally impressive price.

In late 2018, I reviewed Epson's 4010 PRO-UHD 3LCD Projector, a $2,000 model with a bright (2,400 lumens) picture, 4K/Ultra HD display via pixel-shifting, and a wide range of sophisticated setup features such as motorized lens shift and focus that are typically found only on much more expensive models.

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Ask S&V
Do Any Bluetooth Speakers Use Audyssey Processing?
Al Griffin  |  Jul 11, 2019
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Are there any powered Bluetooth speakers on the market that use Audyssey or similar technologies? I have Audyssey Dynamic EQ available in my main listening area and I enjoy being able to listen at lower volume levels without losing proper frequency balance. It would be nice to have this ability in other rooms and also when I travel. —Dallas Holston, via email

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Editor's Eye
Technology: Friend or Foe?
Al Griffin  |  Jun 27, 2019
A persistent theme I’ve observed in recent articles from several long-time Sound & Vision contributors is a sense of unease over the encroachment of AI (Artificial Intelligence) into the traditional consumer electronics space.
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Ask S&V
Should I Invest in IMAX Enhanced AV Gear?
Al Griffin  |  May 23, 2019
Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q Is there any reason why I should invest in IMAX Enhanced AV gear and discs? Do you think this technology can survive against the established Dolby and DTS competition? —David Riley, via email

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Home Movie Theaters
Star Wars: A Home Theater Adventure
Al Griffin  |  May 22, 2019
Most of us remember the first time as a kid that seeing a movie had a profound impact on our young mind. For plenty of kids who came of age in the 1970s, that movie was the first episode of the original Star Wars trilogy, which was released in 1977. For Kelly Sterne of Flower Mound, Texas, a fascination with Star Wars led to an obsession...
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Editor's Eye
A Visit to Danish Speaker Manufacturer DALI
Al Griffin  |  May 14, 2019
DALI (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) was founded in 1983 by Peter Lyngdorf, who is also the founder and owner of high-end audio company Steinway Lyngdorf. The company currently employs 300 people, with the bulk of its manufacturing carried out in a 220,000-square-foot factory located in farm country midway between Aarhus and Aalborg. DALI produced 250,000 speakers in 2018, and exported products to 70 countries.
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Munich 2019
Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue' Stunningly Good in Atmos
Al Griffin  |  May 12, 2019
Now here was a Munich High End show demo that could have gone either way: Miles Davis’ classic jazz albums Kind of Blue (1959) and Sketches of Spain (1960) re-mixed for Dolby Atmos. Would the producers of this bold effort maintain the sonic integrity of the original recordings, or would they succumb to the worst impulses of 5.1-remix era, surrounding listeners in a swirl of brass, with Bill Evans’ piano raining down from overhead?
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Munich 2019
iFi Audio’s Aurora Begs to Be Different
Al Griffin  |  May 11, 2019
With a bamboo-encased cabinet supported by an A-frame stand, iFi’s Aurora, unveiled, appropriately enough, at an art gallery in Munich on Thursday night, doesn’t look anything like other wireless all-in-one speakers on the market.
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Munich 2019
Wharfedale’s EVO Series Speakers Evolve
Al Griffin  |  May 10, 2019
Wharfedale’s EVO Series speakers count among the company’s best-selling lines, no doubt due to their affordable price. With the new EVO4 series, Wharfedale appears to be giving listeners more for less—in this case by incorporating an AMT (Air Motion Transformer) tweeter in the design.
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