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Reviews

Cambridge Audio DacMagic

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Cambridge Audio has come up with a product that has wowed everyone: the DacMagic. For $479, you get a DAC that is fully differential (a stereo DAC on each of the two channels), upsampling to 24/192, very low specified distortion, and selectable output filters. Does it perform as claimed? Read our review to see for yourself.

DACs

KEF XQ10 Bookshelf Speakers

Jim Milton

Founded by Raymond Cook in the 1960's on the premises of Kent Engineering & Foundry (from where the name KEF is derived), KEF speakers have been a popular loudspeaker brand in Europe for many years. With interest in expanding their presence here in the States, KEF is introducing their XQ series which ranges from the XQ10 bookshelves to the XQ40 towers. What I consider to be their most innovative design is the Uni-Q, a point source that consolidates the tweeter into the mid range driver.

Bookshelf Speakers

Totem Mite Bookshelf Speakers

Richard Stevens

A couple of years ago, a friend and I were on a quest for the perfect bookshelf speaker. With a budget of $1100 a pair this quest certainly had its challenges. Although our needs were slightly different, I was geared more towards hometheater and he towards two channel, we did agree on one thing; the little speaker had to sound "big".

Bookshelf Speakers

Yamaha RX-V665 7.1 A/V Receiver

Kieran Coghlan

Part of what I enjoy most about this hobby is helping other people get into it. Given that, I'm a big fan of mid- to entry-level home theater equipment, since most people asking for advice about their first system are not looking to dole out beaucoup bucks, especially in this economy. Yamaha has a great history with their A/V receiver product line, with many excellent products in the mid- to entry-level range.

Receivers

Dynaudio Excite Home Theater Speakers

Larry Hryshko

Long before I ever dreamed of owning a genuine set of Dynaudio speakers, I've lusted after their raw drivers. Dynaudio speaker components have always been highly regarded in the do-it-yourself (DIY) community for their exceptional fidelity and bullet-proof construction. Notably, the DIY crowd isn't exactly known for their extravagance or pretentiousness, so the huge popularity of Dynaudio is quite telling.

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

Onkyo TX-NR906 7.1-Channel Home Network A/V Receiver

Brian Alvarez

Onkyo has broken new ground by introducing two receivers to be the first in the world with isf video calibration. The TX-NR906 is the flagship of the Onkyo receiver line and the step up from the equally ISF-capable TX-SR876. Several features set the 906 apart from the 876. The 906 having more power supplies including a toroidal power transformer for the amplifier section.

Receivers

Canton GLE 490 Floor-standing Speakers, GLE 455 Center Channel, GLE 430 Bookshelf Speakers, and AS 105 SC Subwoofer

Andrew Yang

Amidst the many dividing lines in the world of audio and video is the line between those that believe speakers must be single purpose, and those that believe speakers can be multi-purpose. The purposes in question are often music and home theater (alternatively music or home theater depending on what side of the line you are on.) A more pertinent question for this review might be: "How well Canton goes from Pure Music to surround sound in one package?"

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

DreamVision Dream’E 1080p LCoS Projector

Chris Eberle

It has been my privilege recently to sample DreamVision's latest addition to the 1080p LCoS front-projector market, the Dream'E. With attractive Euro-styling, a choice of case colors, excellent performance, and suitability for medium to large theaters, the Dream'E deserves a serious look by those wanting to satisfy their big-screen desires without breaking the bank.

Projectors

Yamaha RX-V3900 7.1 A/V Receiver

Gabe Lowe

There has been a huge boom, over the last few years, in the number of devices for your A/V system that stream or play music. These devices include many things, from gaming consoles like the Xbox 360 to standalone boxes such as Yamaha's own MCX-2000. In the past year, we have been seeing these types of features creep into traditional consumer electronics components, such as Blu-Ray players and A/V Receivers. The Yamaha RX-V3900 is one such component.

Receivers

Energy CF-70 Floor-standing Speakers

Greg Zakrzewski

I first encountered the Energy line of speakers in the late 90's when I helped a friend setup her new Take 5 system paired with a Denon receiver. My recollection of the event is of some skepticism as to the sound quality given the small size of the speakers but I ended up being grudgingly impressed with them. They certainly blew away any HTiB solution! It was perfect for her condo.

Floor Standing Speakers

Emotiva ERT-8.3 Tower Speakers, ERM-6.3 Monitor, and ERD-1 Surround Speakers

Jim Clements

Emotiva has been recognized as a value/performance leader in amplifiers for quite some time. Recently, they have ventured into the speaker arena with several models. In this review, we cover the new ERT-8.3 Towers, ERM-6.3 Monitor (used as the center channel), and ERD-1 Surrounds. I enjoyed these speakers about as much as any I have ever had in my system. They are well-designed and solidly constructed. They represent an excellent value as well. Learn more about these exciting new speakers by clicking on the photo to read our review.

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

Pioneer BDP-09FD Elite Blu-ray Player – Benchmark

Chris Heinonen and Adrian Wittenberg

Many people have been waiting for Blu-ray players to hit the magic price point of $200, where people think mass adoption will start to take place and it will slowly overtake DVD as the dominant home video format. However, there's also another range of players that are starting to come out now, those of reference quality designs with virtually no expense spared. The BDP-09FD from Pioneer is their entry into that arena.

(Check out the video tour of the player's features at the bottom of Page 2.)

Blu-ray Players

ARE Audio Light Roast Speakers

Jared Rachwalski

ARE Audio consists of two East Coast Canadian childhood friends who have created interesting speakers with a twist. They currently produce two models, the bookshelf Light Roasts and a floor stander called the Grinder. These guys do more than just build speakers; they also customize the speakers to your taste.

Bookshelf Speakers

ButtKicker BK-Kit-4 Wireless Tactile Transducer

John E. Johnson, Jr.

ButtKicker has been making tactile transducers (shakers) for several years now. These are devices that make your chair, couch, or floor vibrate when low frequency material is playing. They were always very powerful, and in fact, more intense than many consumers wanted. You could always just turn down the volume, but then, you were paying for high power shaking that you were not using. So, ButtKicker decided to produce a shaker that is smaller, with less maximum shaking potential, and include a smaller amplifier. The BK-KIT-4 is the result.


Shakers

Denon AH-D7000 Headphones and Headroom Ultra Desktop Headphone Amplifier

Chris Groppi

My first "high end" system consisted of Sennheiser HD-580 headphones, an original HeadRoom headphone amplifier, an Audio Alchemy DAC in the Box, and a Sony Discman with an optical digital out. I was a college student at the time, and there was no way of having a real, properly set up hifi system in my dorm room. It was clear to me at the time, listening to both my system and uber high end Hifi in shops, that my little headphone setup blew away many high dollar loudspeaker based systems.

Headphone and Earphone Reviews