Jim Milton

Speakers with No Box Enclosure

I heard some speakers at a local HiFi show and they were mounted on a single board with no box enclosure, so you could look behind the board and see all of the speakers, wiring, and cross over network. What is supposed to be the desired effect of mounting them this way?

- Steve G
Atlanta, GA

Al Jolson Jazz Singer

Known as the "Father of the Talkies", The Jazz Singer was the first film to match sound and picture. By 1927, some short subjects had already been "talkies," and even a few features had some bits of synchronized music, but The Jazz Singer was the first to put them altogether on the Silver Screen.

Francis Ford Coppola

Just in time for the New Year celebration, I received a copy of a new Blu-ray collection from Lionsgate Studios of some of Coppola's best films. This set contains Apocalypse Now/ Apocalypse Now Redux (1979), The Conversation (1974)...

Paradigm Soundtrack (Soundbar and Subwoofer) Speaker System

There is no question that soundbars are a "hot item" for home theater enthusiasts. The soundbar category grew a whopping 68% over all of 2012, with a monumental surge in Q4 2012 alone. Unit sales for Q4 versus Q3 were up 158%, even better, the category of soundbars with a companion subwoofer increased 126% in 2012 versus the prior year. This according a new report from Quixel Research. I can't think of any major speaker manufacturer that does not offer at least one soundbar in their line up.

 

Pioneer VSX-43 7.1 Elite A/V Receiver

Back in my college days, I had a roommate that had a nice stereo Pioneer receiver. It cost him a few hundred bucks. Since it was pre-digital, the inputs were pretty basic. Simply hook up to a cassette deck and turntable and we reveled in the audiophile sounds that its 30 watts/channel produced. Ah, the 70's were the "golden era" of audio. Point being, everybody has to start somewhere in their journey to musical nirvana. Fast forward to 2013 and now for around $500 you can get a 7.1 surround, network capable, DSP loaded, phone/Android integrated, Bluetooth, 80 watt/channel Elite receiver from Pioneer. True, the VSX-43 is their entry level Elite receiver, but it is packed with features that would have cost you a lot of money, even just a few years ago. But does the VSX-43 have what it takes to be the brain and brawn you are looking for in a modern home entertainment system?