Marantz NA7004 Network Music Streamer

Robert Kozel

Almost every manufacturer these days is including some type of network support in their products. From receivers that connect to home music servers and disc players that stream music and video from the internet, we have lots of options for enjoying content with our home entertainment systems. While Marantz has been including network support in their products for a while, they have not offered a stand-alone network streamer until now: The NA7004 streams music from your computer, the Internet, and even USB thumb drives.

Media Streamer

Sunfire

Secrets
Carver's earliest years of validating the latest audio technologies and looking for unconventional approaches to amplifier design The year was 1972.
AV Directory

Sunfire SDS-10 Subwoofer

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Sunfire didn't build the first small subwoofer, but they did begin the trend towards small, powerful subwoofers, characterized by having drivers with long excursion and high power class D amplifiers. The SDS-10 is the 10" model in a line that also has 8" and 12" versions. It uses a front-firing driver with a 10" down-firing passive radiator. The amplifier is rated at 250 watts RMS. For $500 MSRP, I was pretty amazed at its performance. It won't crack the plaster, but it will party hard.

Subwoofers

An Interview with Violinist Christian Tetzlaff

By Jason Victor Serinus

Seventeen years into their founding, appearance by the Tetzlaff Quartet remain extremely rare. One glance at the schedule of the quartet's founder, renowned violinist Christian Tetzlaff, and the reason becomes clear. In the months preceding the quartet's seven-city U.S. tour in April, Christian Tetzlaff will perform orchestral, small chamber, and solo concerts in Berlin, Salzburg, Miami, Strasbourg, St. Petersburg, Lübeck, Zürich, Boston, New York's Carnegie Hall (one of three Carnegie appearances this year), London, Paris, and several other European cities.

Musician and Vocalist Artist Interviews

Maxonix Zero-G Drumstick Holder

John E. Johnson, Jr.

An issue that all drummers deal with is where to put all their sticks so that they are easy to grab, quickly. Bags and cups will hold a lot of sticks, but (1) they have to be vertical, and (2) you have to fish through a number of sticks to come up with the pair you want. Maxonix has solved that problem with a device they call the Zero-G Drumstick Holder. It only holds one pair of sticks, but what makes it so invaluable, is that you can mount it anywhere, and the stick holding plate can be rotated so that the sticks are in any position you desire. Enough said . . . let's take a look.

Accessories

Zildjian 18″ K Custom Fast Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

The "K" line of Zildjian cymbals have a characteristic "dark" sound, meaning there is quite a strong low frequency component. The K Custom line is stated to retain some of the original K sound, but with the addition of modern hammering techniques that "enhance the K character." The Zildjian 18" K Custom Fast Crash Cymbal has the K hammering, plus some bolder hammer strokes. The bell is a bit different than other K cymbals, which gives it a faster response, and also a quicker decay.

Cymbals

3-D Squared

Secrets
If you are investing in a high-end audio system, then your system will never perform up to it's potential without the proper acoustical treatments installed in your room.
AV Directory

A Collection of New Vinyl Releases for the Audiophile – April, 2011

Jason Crawford

I spent the better part of my formative years in Georgia. By that, I mean most of them. Went to middle school and high school in Augusta until a brief (although not brief enough) layover in Gainesville before finding the Promised Land which is Athens. If you like music, there is no better place to be. As I've never met anyone that doesn't like music, it seems like we could all agree, in consensus, that Athens, Georgia is at least one of the best places in the world to be, live, love, fight, fume, whatever.

AV DirectoryVinyl Music ReviewsVinyl Reviews

Second-Generation Apple TV Media Streamer

Chris Eberle

Ever since Louis Daguerre took the first photograph and Thomas Edison lowered the needle on the first phonograph, media has been a part of our lives. The reproduction of still and moving images and sound is an art form that we are unlikely to see the zenith of in our lifetimes. Since the early part of the twentieth century, sound and video reproduction usually came in the form of magnetic tape, film or vinyl records. Now with the proliferation of digital storage methods, evolution has accelerated. The Apple TV second generation media streamer tosses the hard drive storage from first generation model. What does it add? Read our review to see for yourself . . . .

Media Streamer

Paradigm MilleniaOne Satellite Speakers (Set of Five)

Secrets

Paradigm has made a name for itself around the globe for delivering speakers that are consistently strong in accuracy, gigantic soundstage, very precise imaging, deep, powerful bass (which usually significantly increase the cost of other speaker manufacturers offerings) all while keeping the cost below the competition. They do all engineering in house, all speaker component manufacturing in house, all assembly in house and all testing in house. #1 Best Price/Value for 20 years in Inside Track Magazine and #1 Overall 6 times. The MilleniaOne is a satellite speaker that can be used in all five (or seven) channels, along with a subwoofer. Only the MilleniaOne satellite speakers (set of five) are reviewed here.

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

Nixeus

Secrets
Nixeus Technology was founded in 2010 on the simple idea of providing consumers worldwide with the most innovative multimedia solutions the market can provide.
AV Directory

Atlantic Technology

Secrets
Founded in 1989, Atlantic Technology specializes in complete high-performance and high-value multi-channel speaker systems, subwoofers, and a full range of in-wall, in-ceiling speakers for custom audio/video installation.
AV Directory

Outlaw Audio

Secrets
Privately owned Outlaw Audio designs their own line of high-performance, high-value consumer electronics products...
AV Directory