Audio Desk System Automated Vinyl (LP) Cleaner

Rick Schmidt

For all of these years that I've been extolling the virtues of analog (LP a.k.a., vinyl) playback I've known that it just isn't really practical for most people. Even less practical, is the necessity to clean your LPs once in a while to keep those pops and ticks out of the music. Several companies make devices that clean your LPs. The Audio Desk System Automated Vinyl Cleaner is one of them, and we review it here.

Audio Accessories Misc

Darbee

Secrets
DARBEE™ DVP™ technology embeds monoscopic depth cues and details in an image by modulating the local pixel luminance according to our underlying patented method.
AV Directory

HiFiMan HE-500 Over-the-Ear Planar Magnetic Headphones and EF5 Headphone Amplifier

John E. Johnson, Jr.

HiFiMan is a relative newcomer (2006) to the audio product scene. Their specialty is headphones (including over-the-ear and earbuds) and headphone amplifiers. We have reviewed several of their headphones, with positive and enthusiastic findings. The HE-500, reviewed here, are over-the-ear headphones, meaning that they completely enclose the ears. This model also uses planar magnetic drivers, which unlike cone drivers, are flat, very thin plastic membranes, on which is attached a thin conductor. The membrane is near permanent magnets, and when the signal flows through the conductor, the opposing electromagnetic field on the conductive membrane is pushed away from or attracted to the permanent magnets, producing the sound.

Headphone and Earphone Reviews

Telluride Film Festival 2012

Rick Schmidt

As usual the passes for  the Telluride Film Festival 2012 were sold out a short time before the festival started. There did not seem to be any major upsets with large numbers of people getting shut out of a particular movie. Perhaps this was because George Clooney was not at the festival. Bill Murray was however, in support of his new film with Laura Linney, Hyde Park on Hudson.

Show Reports, Film Festivals and Concerts

JVC X70 Three-Chip D-ILA Projector

Chris Heinonen

Just two years ago, 3D was the all the rage at the CEDIA Expo. Now 3D is in almost every display you buy and is not the hot, new thing. It has been supplanted by 4K, promising to offer so many pixels that we will never see them again, and out-HD our current High Definition. JVC took a half step onto the 4K platform with their e-Shift projectors, which use a slight pixel shift to potentially produce an effective resolution of 4K, though with only 1920 x 1080 panels and no 4K input capability. The JVC X70 is one such projector, and is reviewed here.

Projectors
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Bowers & Wilkins launches CI 800

Secrets

See nothing, hear everything High-performance custom installation series featuring core Bowers & Wilkins technologies. Utilizing Carbon Braced Tweeters, FST...

Press

Fixed or Retractable Screen?

Scott Wilkinson

Which is better for a home theater—a fixed or retractable projection screen? I'm interested in setting up a home theater and potentially having a retractable screen to make the room suitable for multiple uses, but I'm willing to make it a dedicated room if there are too many downsides to a retractable screen, such as maintaining the shape of the screen.
- Aleksander Pasko

SECRETS Home Theater Q&A
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Ask Secrets Editorial Team

Secrets

Fill out my online form. var z7x2z1;(function(d, t) { var s = d.createElement(t), options = { 'userName':'adme', 'formHash':'z7x2z1', 'autoResize':true, 'he...

General

Sony BDP-S790 Blu-ray Player

Chris Heinonen

The Sony BDP-S790 Blu-ray player does a good job of performing at a high quality level, but at an affordable price. Dual HDMI outputs, Original Resolution mode, and multiple video settings are available to work well in any system.

Blu-ray Players