Secrets Best of 2009 Product Awards

The Secrets Editorial Team

The Secrets Best of 2009 Product Awards, featuring the following categories: Accessories, Small Accessories, Headphones, Shaker Packages, Blu-ray Players, Budget CD Players, Budget DACs, High End DACs, Flat Panel HDTVs, Home Theater in a Box, Small Audio Systems with iPod Dock, Value in Power Amplifiers, Stereo Power Amplifiers, Power Conditioners, Budget Stereo Preamplifiers, Stereo Preamplifiers, Surround Sound Processors, Budget Projectors, High End Projectors, Mid-Level A/V Receivers, Budget Receivers, High End A/V Receivers, Floor Standing Speakers, 5.1 Speaker Packages, In-wall Speakers, Bookshelf Speakers, In-Floor/In-Ceiling Subwoofers, Large Subwoofers, Mid-Size Subwoofers, Small Subwoofers, Media Processor System-on-Chip, High Definition Video Cameras, Emotiva Cables, High End SACD Players.

Best Of Awards

WINNER ANNOUNCED!!…WIN A LEXICON MC-12B FULLY BALANCED SSP WITH MICROPHONE KIT AND ROOM CORRECTION UPGRADE

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Thank you to all of the CAVE Members.......we have awarded the Lexicon, as announced in the CAVE.......The winner of  the Blu-ray discs will be announced on Friday!!   The next CAVE award will be "Officially" announced in next week's Newsletter.....(HINT:  something special from our friends Downunder!!)  So if you haven't signed up for the Newsletter, please do so now.....

Sign up as a member in the Secrets CAVE and you will have a chance to win our reference Lexicon MC-12B SSP (we are changing it out for a different product because we need HDMI audio inputs). This SSP is a superb product that can be used as a two-channel preamp if you wish.

Custom Home Theaters

Marantz SA-15S2 Reference Series SACD Player

Piero Gabucci

Marantz can be thought of in two ways: the company owned by D&M Holdings with a huge market to satisfy, developing highly competitive consumer level products such as receivers and DVD players. Secondly, Marantz is an audio-first legacy from Saul Marantz, that produced vacuum tube gear in the 1950's, and leading the way to solid state in the 1960's. Here, we take a look at their SA-15S2 SACD player.

SACD Players

NextGen Twister 360 Degree HDMI Connector

John E. Johnson, Jr.

For those of us who use A/V equipment with HDMI jacks, we all have experienced issues with the cable being forced to bend at stressful angles to go to the next piece of equipment in the signal path. NextGen has solved this difficulty with the Twister, which is an HDMI jack and plug, connected together using a 3600 ball joint.

Switchers

Movie Renter’s Guide – December, 2009

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Star Trek (Blu-ray), The Taking of Pelham 123 (Blu-ray), Angels & Demons (Blu-ray), Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws (Blu-ray), A Charlie Brown Christmas (Blu-ray), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1965, Blu-ray), Wrong Turn (Blu-ray), An American Werewolf in London (Blu-ray), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000, Blu-ray), The Office: Season 5 (Blu-ray), Battlestar Galactica - The Plan (Blu-ray), District 9 (Blu-ray), The Inglourious Basterds (Blu-ray)

Movie Reviews

Sennheiser HD-800 Headphones

Chris Groppi

2009 is a good time to be a headphone fan. The supply of high-end headphones is exploding. At the head of the pack is the new Sennheiser HD-800. This is a cost-no-object assault on the state of the art in headphone listening. They are more than twice as expensive as Sennheiser's previous top of the line, the HD-650.

Headphone and Earphone Reviews

Denon AVR-3310CI 7.1 A/V Receiver

John E. Johnson, Jr.

When shopping for a receiver, most consumers either get the bargain of the week at $499 or the macho machine at $2,499. But, what about those receivers in the middle, as in $1,499. Not cheap enough for the bargain hunter, not "impressive" enough for the high end. Maybe you should take a second look. At that middle price, you can still get the hot features, but not break the bank. Here, we review Denon's AVR-3310CI which clocks in at 120 watts x 7 and decodes everything, even that new kid on the block . . . height channels.

Receivers

Canton Reference 5.2 DC Floor-Standing Speakers

Piero Gabucci

Back in mid-2005, I auditioned Canton's new Vento line of speakers with an entire surround package, (although the matching sub had yet to be released). I found them impeccably designed and crafted, and they sounded terrific. In this review, I take a look and listen to the Canton Reference 5.2 DC tower (floor-standing) speakers. More-terrific is what I found.

Floor Standing Speakers

The Ongoing Career of Baritone Benjamin Luxon

Jason Victor Serinus

English baritone Benjamin Luxon remains prized for the intelligence of his portrayals, and his unfettered directness of expression. Now 72, and devoting much of his time to theater, Luxon came to fame as a member of Benjamin Britten's English Opera Group. After creating the title role in Britten's Owen Wingrave, he proceeded to perform a wide variety of roles in many of the world's leading houses.

Musician and Vocalist Artist Interviews