Sherwood RD-7503 7.1 A/V Receiver and BT-R7 Bluetooth Adapter

Robert Kozel

The Sherwood RD-7503 A/V Receiver is one of the newest offerings from Sherwood aimed at controlling all the latest devices in your home theater. The RD-7503 A/V receiver provides 7 channels of amplification at 100 watts per channel, 3 HDMI 1.3 inputs with repeater, on-board decoding of DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD high resolution audio formats, automatic room setup and support for a second zone. The RD-7503 also provides optional support for their DS-10 iPod dock, SIRIUS Satellite, and Bluetooth support which I will discuss later in the review.

Receivers

A Collection of New Vinyl Releases – July, 2009

Jason Crawford

I came to the Iron and Wine game late.  I bought 2007's "The Shepherd's Dog," amongst the disapproving howls of his audience who seemed to think he'd abandoned his sound.  You'd have thought he'd started rapping or something.  "Around the Well" is a collection of B-sides and rarities that span the length of his career, and I can kind of see his fans' point in retrospect.

Vinyl Music ReviewsVinyl Reviews

CalMAN Video Display Analysis System

Chris Eberle

If you want to get the most accurate picture from your television or projector you need to calibrate it.  The question then becomes – do you hire a professional or do it yourself?  It is now quite feasible to do your own calibration with tools that don't cost much more than a pro calibrator's fee.  The product that is squarely at the forefront of this market is CalMAN from SpectraCal.  CalMAN is a package that can be used by anyone interested in display calibration from the hobbyist to the professional.

 

Video Calibration

conrad-johnson Classic Vacuum Tube Preamplifier with Phono Stage

Ed Becker

conrad-johnson (lower case c and j) was formed in the mid-seventies, shortly after I became seriously interested in audio gear. I'm sure the two events were entirely unrelated. Their first product, a preamplifier, was immediately recognized as "state of the art," and so their storied history began. I encourage you to visit their website for more details. There, they provide a long list of products that have been reviewed as "Best of Class", and even "Best in the World."

Preamplifiers

The British Choral Group Stile Antico Talks About its U.S. Debut

Jason Victor Serinus

On June 12, 2009, the English early music choral ensemble Stile Antico made its much-anticipated U.S. debut at the Boston Early Music Festival. The entire concert debut was recorded by NPR, and can be heard online.

After Stile Antico won the 2005 Early Music Network International Young Artists' Competition, the young ensemble's debut disc for Harmonia Mundi, Music for Compline, won the Diapason d'Or, Choc du Monde de la Musique, and a Grammy Award nomination. Their second disc, Heavenly Harmonies, received the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik and another Diapason d'Or. Attention from NPR, and a tour with Sting in Europe and the Far East in support of his Dowland lute song project, Songs from the Labyrinth, elevated them into company rare for an early music ensemble, and helped project their most recent CD, Song of Songs, into the Top 15 of the Billboard Classical Chart.

In anticipation of Stile Antico's U.S. debut, I spoke by phone with one of the group's founding members, towering bass Olly Hunt. Chief among my queries was the genesis of the group's marvelously fresh, oft-sensual sound.

Musician and Vocalist Artist Interviews

conrad-johnson Classic Vacuum Tube Preamplifier with Phono Stage

Ed Becker

conrad-johnson (lower case c and j) was formed in the mid-seventies, shortly after I became seriously interested in audio gear. I'm sure the two events were entirely unrelated. Their first product, a preamplifier, was immediately recognized as "state of the art," and so their storied history began. I encourage you to visit their website for more details. There, they provide a long list of products that have been reviewed as "Best of Class", and even "Best in the World."

Phono PreamplifiersPreamplifiers

Pass Labs XA30.5 Stereo Power Amplifier

Chris Groppi

What do a 30 watt stereo solid-state amplifier and a 500 watt solid-state monoblock have in common? A lot, it turns out. The seemingly diminutive Pass Labs XA30.5 weighs 75 pounds, has an enormous toroidal power transformer, and uses 20 output transistors to deliver 30 watts of pure class A power. It turns out these specs are similar, or in some cases, better than my recently reviewed Emotiva XPA-1 monoblocks. The XA30.5 proves that rated power is by no means everything. In fact, if you have speakers of even moderately high sensitivity, the XA30.5 renders any discussion of power output irrelevant. When paired with the right speakers, this may be one of the best amplifiers there is, regardless of price.

Power Amplifiers

Velodyne SC-600 IF/IC In-Floor / In-Ceiling Subwoofer

Jared Rachwalski

For those of you new to the home theater game Velodyne has been making subwoofers for longer than some directors have been making movies. They make big ones, small ones, loud ones, and even louder ones. They were also one of the first to recognize the importance of room correction in the subwoofer domain and have many products that feature equalization and digital sound processing. The subwoofer featured here is part of the SubContractor line of subwoofers.

Subwoofers