Anthony Gallo

Secrets

Anthony Gallo was born in 1963. From an early age, he had an interest in the sciences and would take apart just about everything he could get his hands on. At around age 13, he began to become hooked on loudspeaker design.

AV Directory

Apex Digital

Secrets
Headquartered in Walnut, California, USA Apex Digital Inc. is one of the countrys leading providers and marketers of consumer electronics such as DVD home entertainment players, LCD televisions and portable media devices.
AV Directory

Adcom

Secrets
In the world of high performance audio, ADCOM has done the impossible: make state-of-the-art components that are easy to use at an affordable price...
AV Directory

MartinLogan Ethos Hybrid Electrostatic Speakers

Jim Clements

MartinLogan has recently expanded its line to include the Ethos, which is a hybrid electrostatic speaker, meaning that it has not only an electrostatic panel, but a cone woofer. Using woofers to handle the bass is necessary in smaller electrostatic speakers because the surface area of the panel is not large enough to move much air at the lowest frequencies. In the case of the Ethos, the woofer has a built-in amplifier to drive it.

Floor Standing Speakers

Zildjian 18″ A. Zildjian & CIE Vintage Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Nostalgia is something that we all feel now and then, including drummers. Zildjian recently released several models that reflect their cymbals of decades past. This one is an 18" A. Zildjian & CIE Vintage Crash. It has less of a copper color than some of the more modern cymbals, and the sound does remind me of my college drumming days in the 1960's. I don't think Zildjian plans to keep making these for very long, so if you like vintage sound, get one while they last, because they sound great.

Cymbals

Bryston BP-1.5 Phono Preamplifier

John E. Johnson, Jr.

With vinyl experiencing such an incredible comeback over the past few years, so have phono preamplifiers, a.k.a., phono stages. They are required because the output of a phono cartridge is so low - on the order of 0.3 mV to 5 mV - that the inputs of preamplifiers that don't have phono stages can't amplify the signal enough for the power amplifier down stream.

Phono PreamplifiersPreamplifiers

A Home Theater Build Project – Part III

Mark Vignola

In this section I'll begin to talk about the ways in which I upgraded my room outside of actual equipment changes. Some of these changes were implemented to improve performance, while others were to improve the overall viewing experience. Either way, many of these are easy things that anyone can do in between the major equipment changes that we are often researching.

Custom Home Theaters

Velodyne DD-18+ Subwoofer

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Just when you think a product can't get any better, it gets better. Velodyne, renown manufacturer of subwoofers from the very small to the very large, has released its latest very large sub, the DD-18+. It has a 1,250 watt RMS power amplifier (3,000 watts peak) and a frequency response of 14.4 Hz -120 Hz ± 3 dB. The magnet, at 40 pounds, weighs as much as some small subwoofers themselves. The subwoofer uses a Windows software interface, via USB, for setting the room EQ, and the bench test results are the best I have ever seen from Velodyne.

Subwoofers

Toshiba BDX3000 Blu-ray 3D Player

Chris Eberle and Stephen Hornbrook

By now you've heard lots about 3D TVs. Every manufacturer has at least one 3D-capable model and even the projector companies are offering new products that include this technology. The display is not the only component required to view 3D however. You will also need, at a minimum, a new Blu-ray player. The format itself has not changed but a 3D model is required to view Blu-ray 3D discs. No matter what the brand, every 3D flat panel has a companion player. In the case of the Toshiba WX800 Cinema Series LED panel, recently reviewed at Secrets, that player is the BDX3000.

Blu-ray Players