Best Gear of February 2019

The month of February yielded a short but sweet list of Sound & Vision Top Picks that run the gamut from a low price/high performance 5.1 home theater speaker system and combo amp/digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to a decidedly upscale video projector that will leave enthusiasts drooling and a super refined, seven-channel power amplifier from a brand that is synonymous with “high end.” Can you guess who it is?

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Flashback 2010: Apple Sells 10 Billion Songs

Nineteen years ago this week, Apple announced that “music fans have purchased and downloaded over 10 billion songs from the iTunes Store.”

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80 Years Strong: Legendary Canadian Songwriter Gordon Lightfoot

Legendary Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot called us from his homebase in northern Ontario to discuss why he personally tunes his guitars before every show, how and why he made the choices about where his vocals appear in studio mixes, and the continuing importance of historical accuracy in his songwriting.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/80-years-strong-legendary-canadian-songwriter-gordon-lightfoot

NAD D 3045 Integrated DAC/Amplifier Review

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

PRICE $699

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Impressive power and sonics from a sub-compact design
Dynamic enough to handle a wide range of speakers
Useful Bass EQ/subwoofer filter options
Minus
Digital conversion does not extend to 32-bit/384kHz

THE VERDICT
The D 3045 is a surprisingly powerful compact integrated amplifier with an eminently capable onboard DAC that's equally at home on the desktop or component rack.

Five years ago, when I examined NAD's $399 D 3020, the progenitor of the D 3045 before us here, I liked it—a lot. The D 3020 was among the first of what I've come to call DAC-lifiers: small-ish integrated amps with onboard digital-to-analog facilities intended for audio-streaming or computer sources and projecting at least some level of audiophile sophistication.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/nad-d-3045-integrated-dacamplifier-review

Roundup: Movies Headed for 4K Blu-ray (or Not)

With all the recent hullabaloo over the future of physical media, here’s a look at movies slated for release on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (or not) over the next couple of months. All movies scheduled for Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray are also slated for simultaneously release on DVD, and a couple of the movies will be released digitally and on DVD (no Blu-ray).

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Is This the Videodiscapocalypse?

The recent decision by Samsung to cease selling Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray players (at least in the U.S.), reported elsewhere on this site, has been taken by many as foreshadowing the death of video on physical media. Add in Oppo’s cessation of player manufacturing last year, and the statistically significant falloff in disc sales (confirmed locally by a recent, dramatic reduction in the shelf space devoted to video discs at my nearest Best Buy), and, the news certainly isn’t encouraging.

But the imminent death of the disc isn’t yet in sight. The disc market is still profitable, and the studios haven’t yet slowed down churning out both new and older titles. Check out The Digital Bits website for their weekly lists of releases and then tell me that video discs are on life support. They may be limping, but as a wise man once said, “It ain’t over ‘till it’s over.”

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/videodiscapocalypse

Pangea Speaker Stand Is Affordable & ‘Rock Solid’

Pangea Audio has added an affordable “one-size-fits-all” speaker stand to its stable of audio accessories.

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S&V Poll: Enthusiasts Not About to Abandon 4K Blu-ray

AV enthusiasts reaffirm their love of 4K Blu-ray in a Sound & Vision poll.

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No Shortage of Blu-ray Players…Yet

Samsung turned more than a few heads last week when it confirmed that it would no longer sell Blu-ray players in the U.S. The news was particularly striking because Samsung made headlines just three years ago when it introduced the world’s first 4K/Ultra Blu-ray player — the Top Pick-designated UBD-K8500.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/no-shortage-blu-ray-players-yet

IKEA and Sonos: More than just Cinnamon Rolls and Meatballs

While teased last summer, a new video just released is showcasing Symfonisk, the collaboration between smart-speaker manufacturer Sonos and IKEA, maker of meatballs, build-it-yourself furniture, and all things Swedish and practical. The speakers that will come from this new venture promise to deliver the exceptional sound that Sonos is known for with the functionality and budget-friendliness of IKEA.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/ikea-and-sonos-more-just-cinnamon-rolls-and-meatballs

Sony Announces Pricing for New 4K TVs

Sony has announced pricing for the X950G Series of 4K LCD TVs previewed at CES 2019.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/sony-announces-pricing-new-4k-tvs

Bohemian Rhapsody

Picture
Sound
Extras

The indisputable success of Bohemian Rhapsody confirms what many of us have known for decades: Queen was one of the biggest rock bands in the world, and their late frontman Freddie Mercury was one of the singularly most polarizing and mesmerizing popular-music performers of the 20th century.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/bohemian-rhapsody-0

How Long Will You Continue to Buy Discs?

Physical media took another hit this week with word that Samsung will no longer produce standard and 4K/Ultra HD Blu-ray players for sale in the U.S., leaving Sony, Panasonic, and LG to carry the BD hardware mantle.

The news comes on the heels of recent NPD VideoScan data that reveals 4K/UHD discs accounted for only 5% of sales among the top 50 titles for the week ended February 9; standard Blu-ray claimed 40% and DVD 55%. The numbers were reported by MediaPlayNews.com, which bills itself as the “voice of the home entertainment industry.”

Add to that Hollywood’s selective commitment to 4K on disc. Upcoming home video releases of The Favourite and Stan & Ollie, for example, will reportedly be released only on DVD and standard Blu-ray. Other upcoming releases that make no mention of 4K/UHD Blu-ray include Vice (due out April 2) and Holmes & Watson (due out April 9). Both movies will be released on DVD and standard Blu-ray, according to studio announcements.

Despite 4K-on-disc omissions, the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) put a positive spin on 4K Blu-ray in its 2018 year-end report, noting that 445 4K titles were available, compared with 682 digital 4K releases. In its Q3 2018 report, DEG said sales of 4K discs at that time translated into more than $162 million.

All of which brings us to your disc buying habits and how they are changing.

Be sure to leave a comment to share your thoughts on what many believe is the beginning of the end of physical media.

How Long Will You Continue to Buy Discs?

Choices

I’ll continue buying 4K discs for their superior performance as long as Hollywood makes them.

I’m thinking about cutting back on disc purchases as I start to stream more content.

I’m already throttling back my disc purchases as I start to stream more content.

My disc purchases are few and far between these days as I morph into a bona fide streamaholic.

Discs are so 20th Century. It’s full stream ahead.

Leave this field blank

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S&V Poll: How Long Will You Continue to Buy Discs?

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Samsung’s New Wireless Earbuds Are Voice-Enabled

Samsung has added voice control to the next generation of its wireless Galaxy Buds.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/samsung-s-new-wireless-earbuds-are-voice-enabled

Samsung Stops Manufacturing Blu-ray Players in U.S.

Samsung has stopped manufacturing Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players in the U.S. Could this be one more sign that physical media will ultimately disappear, only to be replaced by streaming movies and TV?

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/samsung-stops-manufacturing-blu-ray-players-us

Nativ Announces Tidal/MQA Update for Hi-Res Player

Hong Kong-based Nativ has announced a software update for its Vita high-resolution (hi-res) music player/server that adds support for Tidal Masters, which provides access to thousands of albums encoded in the high-resolution Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) format created by Meridian Audio’s Bob Stuart.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/nativ-announces-tidalmqa-update-hi-res-player

Samsung Stops Manufacturing Blu-ray Players in US

Samsung has stopped manufacturing Blu-ray Disc and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc players. Could this be one more sign that physical media will ultimately disappear, only to be replaced by streaming movies and TV?

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/samsung-stops-manufacturing-blu-ray-players-us

Qobuz Hi-Res Streaming Service Launches in NYC

Paris-based hi-res music streaming and download service Qobuz officially opened its doors in the U.S. at a launch party held last week at the Devialet store in New York City’s SoHo area.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/qobuz-hi-res-streaming-service-launches-nyc

U.K.'s ATC Announces CD Player/Amp-DAC Combo

Convinced the 36-year-old Compact Disc still has plenty of life left in it, U.K.-based ATC Loudspeaker Technology has announced that a new integrated amp/digital-audio converter (DAC) and matching CD player are headed for these shores.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/uks-atc-announces-cd-playeramp-dac-combo

Sony VPL-VW995ES LCOS Projector Review

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

PRICE $35,000

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Breathtaking image quality
Reference-level optics
Laser light source
Minus
Low light output for price point
Lacks dedicated picture mode for HDR

THE VERDICT
The Sony VPL-VW995ES delivers reference-level images with all video formats and benefits from a high-end lens that's optimized for 4K playback.

In 2018, I reviewed Sony's VPL-VW885ES 4K laser projector, a $25,000 model that I hoped would be the successor to previous Sound & Vision Top Pick winners from Sony, the VPL-VW1000 and VPL-VW1100ES, but it fell slightly short of expectations. At CEDIA 2018, Sony unveiled its VPL-VW995ES, a next-gen step-up model in the ES projector line that sported the high-end optics missing from the VW885ES plus a few new tricks. The VPL-VW995ES appears to be a true successor to the earlier designs, but at a steep $35,000, does it have the chops to command such a lofty price? Let's find out.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/sony-vpl-vw995es-lcos-projector-review

SVS Announces White Finish Option for Prime Wireless

SVS today announced that the Top Pick-designated Prime Wireless speaker system introduced last fall is now available in a gloss white finish.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/svs-announces-white-finish-option-prime-wireless

Seymour-Screen Excellence Unveils ‘Budget’ Projection-Screen Masking System

Seymour-Screen Excellence aims to bring Hollywood-style screening room capabilities to a broader audience with a new, lower-priced motorized projection-screen masking system.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/seymour-screen-excellence-unveils-budget-projection-screen-masking-system

Apple Readies Streaming Video Service for Launch

Apple is reportedly putting the finishing touches on a streaming video service it is planning to launch as early as this spring.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/apple-readies-streaming-video-service-launch

Google's Live Transcribe

I am an audio guy. All my life, I have been fascinated by the physics, physiology, and technology of audio. You might be surprised to know this, but my hearing is more important to me than my eyesight. But hearing is a privilege that not everyone shares.

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HiFiMan Unveils Hi-Res-Capable Bluetooth Speaker

HiFiMan has announced a wireless version of its popular Ananda planar-magnetic headphones and unveiled its first wireless speaker — a portable model that supports high-resolution streaming.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/hifiman-unveils-hi-res-capable-bluetooth-speaker

Samsung to Showcase 8K TVs at Experience Stores

Samsung has announced the launch of three Samsung Experience stores in the U.S.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/samsung-showcase-8k-tvs-experience-stores

New Elite Screen Combines Best of Two Worlds

Elite Screens has developed a fixed-frame projection screen for standard-throw projectors that brings the best of two worlds together in one screen: ambient/ceiling light rejection and acoustic transparency.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/new-elite-screen-combines-best-two-worlds

Move Over IMAX: Sony Readies Launch of Large-Format Movie Theater

Sony has announced that plans to launch an “experiential” large format movie theater system in Las Vegas to effectively compete with IMAX and Dolby Vision theaters.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/move-over-imax-sony-readies-launch-large-format-movie-theater

Sawdust and Tinsel

Picture
Sound
Extras

Albert (Åke Grönberg), the aging owner and ringmaster of an impoverished travelling circus, takes the troupe to his home town in order to visit his estranged wife and sons with the hope of returning to the safe, bourgeois family nest. In reaction, his jealous young lover (the gorgeous Harriet Andersson), a horseback rider, allows a charismatic actor to seduce her.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/sawdust-and-tinsel

Acurus Unveils 16-Channel Surround Processor and Companion Amp

Acurus has introduced a 16-channel “immersive” preamp/processor and companion eight-channel amplifier for high-performance home theater/media room applications.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/acurus-unveils-16-channel-surround-processor-and-companion-amp

Severtson’s Microperf Material Now Available for Projection Screens Up to 200 Inches

Severtson Screens has announced that its acoustically transparent “microperf” material is now available for 16:9 projection screens up to 200 inches (diagonal).

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/severtson-s-microperf-material-now-available-projection-screens-200-inches

Vizio Announces President’s Day Deals on 4K TVs

Vizio today announced President’s Day deals on a half-dozen HDR-enabled 4K TVs from its 2018 lineup and a Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbar sound system.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/vizio-announces-president-s-day-deals-4k-tvs

Upcoming Aerosmith Shows Will Be THX-Certified

Aerosmith’s “Deuces Are Wild” Las Vegas residency shows at the Park MGM don’t kick off until April 6 but the iconic rock band has already added new dates, perhaps because word has gotten around that they will be THX Live! performances. (Actually, probably not, but it’s a nice thought…)

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/upcoming-aerosmith-shows-will-be-thx-certified

McIntosh Unveils High-End Wireless Speaker System

McIntosh’s 70th Anniversary Year celebration continues today with the announcement of an upscale follow-up to the RS100 wireless speaker system introduced in 2016.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/mcintosh-unveils-high-end-wireless-speaker-system

Qobuz Hi-Res Streaming Service Up & Running in U.S.

Qobuz, the Paris-based online high-resolution (hi-res) music streaming and download service that’s been operating in Europe since 2007, is now officially open for business in the U.S.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/qobuz-hi-res-streaming-service-running-us

Atlantic Technology Ships Flagship Subwoofers

Atlantic Technology today announced that the flagship SBT Series subwoofers it previewed last September at CEDIA 2018 are now shipping.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/atlantic-technology-ships-flagship-subwoofers

Focal Unveils High-End Headphones and First Amp/DAC

In advance of this weekend’s CanJam NYC 2019 show, France’s Focal has announced its entry into the amp/DAC (digital-to-analog converter) space and introduced new high-end headphones to fill the gap between its $4,000 flagship Utopia and $1,500 Clear models, both Sound & Vision Top Picks.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/focal-unveils-high-end-headphones-and-first-ampdac

Krell Theater 7 Amplifier Review

Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value

PRICE $7,500

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Class-A sound with improved efficiency
Exceptional transparency and control
Minus
Not the most powerful amp on the block
Display unnecessary for most users

THE VERDICT
Krell returns to form with an exceptionally capable amplifier for well-heeled home theaters where quality takes precedence over quantity.

It's hard to overstate the importance of Krell Industries in the history of high-end audio. Founded by Dan and Rondi D'Agostino in 1980, Krell was the audio equivalent of Lamborghini—an audacious riposte to more Ferrari-like rivals such as Mark Levinson and Audio Research. For almost three decades, Krell went from strength to strength, introducing a stream of ever more ambitious products that tested the depth of their customers' pockets, along with the strength of their audio equipment shelving. Then, starting around a decade ago, the brand slowly slipped off the radar screens of most audiophiles.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/krell-theater-7-amplifier-review

Eric Schenkman Puts a New Spin on the Blues

Guitar maestro Eric Schenkman (of Spin Doctors fame) called us from his homebase in Toronto to discuss the creative process behind his new blues-tastic solo album Who Shot John?, his inherent audiophile tendencies when it comes to vinyl playback, and where he currently fits in on the “totem pole” of visionary musicianship.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/eric-schenkman-puts-new-spin-blues

How to Use EQ & Measurements to Tame the Effects of Your Room

Whether you live in a McMansion, a hovel, or something in between, the most influential component in your audio or home theater system is the room. Given at least a basic level of quality in your components, it isn’t even close.

We do acclimate fairly easily to our own listening space, which allows one to overlook response deviations that would make you abandon audio for fly fishing were you to see them on a graph. I’ve had many different rooms over the years, and until I acquired some basic measurement equipment was often quite happy with them once I’d settled in.

A book can be written about how the room affects the listening results, and many have. Probably the best is Dr. Floyd Toole’s Sound Reproduction: Loudspeakers and Rooms. If you have a lazy couple of weeks, its 500+ pages are must-reading. But I’ll attempt a summary here, combined with some of my own thoughts and results...

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/room-measurements-and-equalization

The Room: Measurements and Equalization

Whether you live in a MacMansion, a hovel, or something in between, the most influential component in your audio or home theater system is the room. Given at least a basic level of quality in your components, it isn’t even close.

We do acclimate fairly easily to our own listening space, which allows one to overlook response deviations that would make you abandon audio for fly fishing were you to see them on a graph. I’ve had many different rooms over the years, and until I acquired some basic measurement equipment was often quite happy with them once I’d settled in.

A book can be written about how the room affects the listening results, and many have. Probably the best is Dr. Floyd Toole’s Sound Reproduction: Loudspeakers and Rooms. If you have a lazy couple of weeks, its 500+ pages are must-reading. But I’ll attempt a summary here, combined with some of my own thoughts and results...

from
https://www.soundandvision.com/content/room-measurements-and-equalization

Jaybird Targets Athletes with Earbuds that are Wireless and Waterproof

Jaybird is targeting athletes with wireless earbuds designed to withstand sweat and adverse weather.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/jaybird-targets-athletes-earbuds-are-wireless-and-waterproof

New Philips High-Performance Monitors Cost $280

EPI has announced the addition of two high-performance LCD monitors to the Philips E Series lineup.

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Samsung Announces Availability of New 8K and 4K TVs

Samsung today announced that its 2019 QLED 8K and 4K TVs in screen sizes ranging from 43 to 85 inches are now available for pre-order or purchase.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/samsung-announces-availability-new-8k-and-4k-tvs

SkyFi’s System of the Week Includes ‘Super-Rare’ Gear

A couple weeks ago New York City’s Stereo Exchange expanded its operation to include the used audio gear bought, reconditioned, and resold under the “certified pre-owned” label by NJ-based SkyFi Audio.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/skyfi-s-system-week-includes-super-rare-gear

Elite Screens Celebrates 15 Years in Business

2019 is a milestone year for projection specialist Elite Screens as it marks the company’s 15th anniversary.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/elite-screens-celebrates-15-years-business

The Stradivarius Sound Bank: Capturing a Stradivarius Before It Sleeps

It’s quite tragic; a Stradivarius violin creates arguably the most beautiful musical sounds created by man, but it’s only a limited time before the instrument goes to sleep, to be silenced forever. After producing brilliant sounds and melodies for centuries, the tone of the violin changes and it becomes too fragile and delicate to play; effectively the instrument is silenced in deep slumber. Fortunately, phase one of an ambitious project has just wrapped up in an attempt to save the sound of a precious few of these string instruments for generations to come.

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https://www.soundandvision.com/content/stradivarius-sound-bank-capturing-stradivarius-it-sleeps