When the local Sony dealer asked me which model I wanted to check out, I wasn't sure if I should get the smaller 40" or the larger 46" model. On the one hand, statistics say that the 40" model will be a lot more popular, but they also suggest that the 44-50" segment, particularly in the US, is growing at an amazing rate.
MartinLogan has just introduced their latest model of electrostatic hybrid speakers, called the Spire. They are something else! One of the best ESL's I have ever heard, at any price.
ARC, or Anthem Room Correction, has been a long time in coming. Its origins can be traced back as far as 1990 to research conducted at Canada's NRC (National Research Council). Was it worth the wait? Our Brian Florian finds out!
Montana Loudspeakers, marketed by PBN Audio, is a company whose products I have been very interested in for a long, long time. I have seen them at numerous hi-fi shows, and since I have two massive 1,200 watt monoblock power amplifiers that I like to pair with massive speakers once in awhile, I have been attracted to the Montana's, partly because the line includes some really big models. But more importantly, they have always impressed me with the sound quality at shows - which is not easy to do because the rooms are less than ideal - and they are incredibly beautiful.
Sometimes a disappointing start can lead to a glorious finish. Such has been my experience with Eggleston Works' The Nine, a beautiful loudspeaker that more than deserves the copious amounts of praise it is receiving here and abroad. I have spent a long time – far too long, with The Nines. I have done so for purely selfish reasons. I have grown quite fond of these babies, and will be sad to see them go. But other speakers are on their way, and there's only so much room at the Inn.
Nordost's new power distribution center is called the Thor. In my system, it took music reproduction to an entirely different level. Within minutes, I felt that everything I had heard before was merely play-acting. What changed? Images that had previously floated in their correct little spaces in that classic, somewhat disembodied "audiophile way" now seemed to hold together in a far more realistic manner. They weren't simply arranged or staged; they belonged together.
"Seriously, thanks. I haven't had anything this refreshing from audio equipment since a long, long time. This is the kind of $#^+ that makes me want to believe again. As sincerely as a junkie can get."
For a player as expensive as it is, the Classé CDP-502 could stand for some improvement in its core video performance. Its de-interlacer performance is very good though, and the National Semiconductor AVC 2510 chip set handles most material very well, as there were really only a few minor hiccups it experienced in our DVD Player Benchmark™ tests. It would be hard for me to recommend this DVD player based on its video performance alone, but people in the market for a player in this price class will undoubtedly be looking at it for its ultra high-end audio performance. That, combined with a robust video feature set and the ability to up-convert any material to various HD resolutions through HDMI, makes the CDP-502 an impressive offering overall.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (SD DVD), Noble House (SD DVD), Independence Day (Blu-ray), Cloverfield (SD DVD), The Lives of Others (Blu-ray), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Blu-ray), I Am Legend (Blu-ray), AVP Requiem (Blu-ray), 27 Dresses (Blu-ray)
If you've never heard of mezzo-soprano Joyce Castle, by all means read on. To say she is a hoot to interview is a major understatement. Castle, long a member of New York City Opera, has of late become associated with leading and character roles in contemporary opera, as well as the French repertoire. She is certainly a character and a half over the phone.
The BD-P1400 is Samsung's latest Blu-ray model. We have already reviewed its overall performance, but how did it handle our Secrets DVD Player Benchmark™ tests? Click to find out.
The Elite BDP-95FD is Pioneer's latest Blu-ray DVD player. You have read the Secrets DVD Player Benchmark™ review, and now here is the rest of the story (Blu-ray performance and audio performance).
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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