Chrysalis by Velodyne is a new line of affordable subwoofers that you will be able to find in electronics supermarkets, likely at discounted prices. They utilize the renown Velodyne technology, which means they deliver prodigious deep bass.
When attending CES and Rocky Mountain Audio Fest over the past couple of years, I noticed that turntables are starting to be the majority of sources for exhibit rooms. We all have heard about the vinyl renaissance, but I just did not realize how strong it is. I mean, LPs are being played everywhere at hi-fi shows.
Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (3-D, Blu-ray), Nixon (Blu-ray), Camp Rock (Blu-ray), Only the Valiant (SD DVD), The Forbidden Kingdom (Blu-ray), Rolling Stones: Shine a Light (Blu-ray), Transformers (Blu-ray), Smart People (Blu-ray), Meet the Browns (Blu-ray)
I really don't know what else to say here. The F80 is a very simple, very elegant, and fantastic way to play incredible sounding music from your favorite FM stations as well as CDs and iPod, all from an enclosure not much larger than a shoebox.
I found both video and audio quality of the TViX M6500A to be exceptional, and over the last few months, some of the firmware updates have already made this unit significantly more stable and better than its previous versions. Given that DViCO has been quite adamant in providing support for existing products and continually improving them, I have no doubt they will succeed in turning this unit into an ever more powerful item over the upcoming months.
With no reservation, and by every standard, this is a world class subwoofer. It has massive output, low distortion, and all from a mid-sized enclosure. The price might put some consumers off, but I never heard anyone complain about investing money in a good subwoofer. Save your pennies, and do it.
The Ruins (Blu-ray), Drillbit Taylor (Blu-ray), Mad Men (Blu-ray), Batman: The Movie (Blu-ray), The Bank Job (Blu-ray), Patriot Games (Blu-ray), Belly (Blu-ray), High Noon (SD DVD), Clear and Present Danger (Blu-ray), The Sum of All Fears (Blu-ray) . . . more coming.
I interviewed Joseph Sahyoun, President of Earthquake Audio Corporation, about several of their newest technological developments, including new voice coil cooling that will allow more power to be delivered from subwoofer drivers.
If an HDTV like this had been available three years ago, it would have been spectacular. However, this is mid-2008, and there are lots of excellent 1080p units out there. In short, although the contrast ratio on the Toshiba 46RV53OU was exceptional, the overall performance was disappointing.
Exquisite is a word I once reserved for the subtle beauties of classical song. Then I began to listen to ECM Grammy Award-winning producer Manfred Eicher's jazz recordings, and my perspective changed. I can't vouch for yours, but I feel confident that the rarefied atmosphere of opening five trackson this CD may very well take your breath away. And that includes the trio's cover of Prince's 1991 "Diamonds and Pearls," as well as sublime renditions of music by Gary Peacock, Ennio Morricone, contemporary trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, and pianist / trio founder Marcin Wasilewski.
Canon's new HG10 is a hard disk drive (HDD)-based high definition (1080i) video camera that can be had for less than $1,000. It takes very nice videos, but how does it compare to Canon's HV20 which uses tape and a different compression algorithm, at about the same price?
ANNE SOPHIE VON OTTER: TEREZÃN THERESIENSTADT, J.S. BACH: LUTE WORKS VOL. 1, TERRY RILEY: THE CUSP OF MAGIC, ELLA FITZGERALD: LOVE LETTERS FROM ELLA, SHELLEY MORNINGSONG: OUT OF THE ASHES
It's the special qualities of Karrin Alysson's instantly recognizable, slightly hoarse vocalism that set her apart. Her careful attention to words, the phrases molded with an intelligence that declares her total involvement, the impeccable pianism that illuminates a good share of her performances, and her overarching desire to tell a story all unite to pull listeners into her songs. Whether she's singing about poet Robert Frost or a lover's embrace, the warmth, depth, and honesty of Alysson's artistry catapults her into the same august company as three of her jazz idols, Carmen McCrae, Nancy Wilson, and Dinah Washington.
I keep thinking that subwoofer technology improvements have flattened out, but I keep getting proven wrong. The Earthquake MiniMe P10 is a good example of that. It is small, lightweight, easy to set up, and best of all, it delivers.
The HDX900 is an HDTV streamer based on the Network Media Tank (NMT) middleware platform by Syabas. If you don't know what a streamer is yet, think of the AppleTV but without any of the Apple restrictions. Consider a player that will play all of your movies, in file format, including Blu-ray, DVDs, or any popular format you might have on your computer hard drive, as well as pictures and audio, but doesn't require you to pay a monthly iTunes bill.
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. John E. Johnson, Jr. founded Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity in 1994, shortly after publishing a hardcopy book of the same title. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity until 2022. John has been involved in audio and video for more than 50 years, having built radio transmitters, amplifiers, turntables, and speakers from scratch. He was also one of the founders of the Northern California Audio Video Association, now The Bay Area Audio Society.
John holds four university degrees, including a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, and has published numerous scientific books, along with dozens of scientific articles on biomedical research topics as well as imaging technology. He was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of two medical/scientific journals for 20 years. John holds several patents, including one on high resolution image analysis and one on a surgical instrument. He has been affiliated with NASA, The National Institutes of Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Stanford Research Institute, and The University of California at Berkeley. He is President of the consulting firm Scientific Design and Information, Inc., which is based in Redwood City, California.
John resides in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and multiple kitties! His daughter, Cynthia, who was an integral part of SECRETS for many years, resides in San Francisco.
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