John E. Johnson, Jr.

Earthquake Sound iQuake IQ-52B iPod Dock

There are plenty of iPod Docks out there for you to plug in your iPod and listen to your music using speakers instead of earphones. Some of them are very inexpensive and others somewhat more, but what sets the Earthquake Sound iQuake IQ-52B apart from the rest are its sound quality and features. Read our review to see how flexible this little package really is.

Squeezebox Duet Wireless Music Streamer

UPDATED November 16, 2009 - We have all noticed the proliferation of media servers on the market over the past several years. The problem is, they are quite expensive, usually in the thousands of dollars, and some in the tens of thousands. Well, finally, there are some products that will let you play your music in any of those rooms you want, by ripping your CDs to a music directory on your PC and using a wireless "Streamer" in the room where you want to listen to them. There are several music streamers on the market, including Squeezebox, which has several models. Their newest entry is the Squeezebox Duet, which is the subject of this review.

Please take a particular look at the end of the review where I updated my opinion about this product on November 16, 2009.

Movie Renter’s Guide – January, 2009

Hancock (Blu-ray), Swing Vote (Blu-ray), The Bourne Trilogy (Blu-ray), The Express (The Ernie Davis Story) (Blu-ray), King Kong (2005) (Blu-ray), Universal Soldier (Blu-ray), My Best Friend's Girl (Blu-ray), Max Payne (Blu-ray), Saw V (Blu-ray), Space Buddies (Blu-ray), Bangkok Dangerous (Blu-ray), Righteous Kill (Blu-ray), Dexter: The First Season (Blu-ray)

Movie Renter’s Guide – December, 2008

Kung Fu Panda (Blu-ray), Mama Mia (Blu-ray), Event Horizon (Blu-ray), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) (Blu-ray), Serenity (Blu-ray), The Cheetah Girls: One World (Blu-ray), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (Blu-ray), Burn After Reading (Blu-ray), The Duchess (Blu-ray), The Dark Knight (Blu-ray)

Music Reviews – November, 2008

It's easy to dismiss Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos assonic wallpaper. Their presence on classical FM, internet radio, iTunes, andconcert programs around the world is virtually as ubiquitous as Vivaldi'snot-always-evergreen Four Seasons. Most recordings, however, are dismayingly routine, with modern instrument players sawing and blowing away as if executing these babies was just another gig on the calendar.

Hold on to your harpsichord, partner. If you think you know Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos inside and out, take a listen to this award-winning two-CD set.

JL Audio Fathom f212 Subwoofer

JL Audio's new Fathom f212 subwoofer is an astonishing product. Their years of building car audio subwoofers that you can hear a block away have paid off in this subwoofer meant for audio and home theater applications. It is expensive, but notwithstanding, even just one of these subs will satisfy the most critical of home theater aficionados. The f212 is one of the finest subwoofers in the world.

Movie Renter’s Guide – November, 2008

Tinker Bell (Blu-ray), Sleeping Beauty (Blu-ray), Transsiberian (Blu-ray), Hellboy II (Blu-ray), The Strangers (Blu-ray), Magagascar (Blu-ray), Wall•E (Blu-ray), Tropic Thunder (Blu-ray), Wanted (Blu-ray), The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian (Blu-ray), TV Series - Hannah Montana (SD DVD), Prison Break (Blu-ray), Lost (Blu-ray), Grey's Anatomy (Blu-ray)

Denon AVP-A1HDCI Surround Sound Processor and POA-A1HDCI Power Amplifier

Denon's new AVP-A1HDCI sports 12 configurable XLR fully balanced output channels. It handles all the newest codecs, including DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD. Using its Denon Link, along with a DVD player that also has the Denon Link, you can play SACDs with the native DSD bitstream being sent to the processor for decoding (no conversion to PCM like most other systems do).