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Reviews

Bel Canto S500 Stereo Power Amplifier

Walt Meger

Let me first state "I like this amp, I really do." What does "Class A, A/B, D, ICEpower" mean to the average audiophile? Will there be an audible benefit by upgrading to the newer technology? If I am making an initial purchase will this technology satisfy me? Does the amp du jour really make a difference in the listening experience for the average listener?

Power Amplifiers

Definitive Technology Mythos STS Supertower Speakers

Piero Gabucci

Definitive Technology made a big splash with the introduction of the innovative Mythos ST tower speaker back in 2007 - its sleek elegant design and proportions along with some serious technology and integral powered race-track shaped subwoofers made it an instant hit. And oh boy it sounded smooth! Of course this was nothing new for current President Sandy Gross who founded DT back in 1990 and introduced one successful speaker after another.

Floor Standing Speakers

Onkyo TX-SR706 7.1 A/V Receiver

Matthew Abel

At $899, the Onkyo TX-SR706 is Onkyo's least expensive THX certified model and an interesting product within Onkyo's range of receivers. It is the lowest priced receiver in Onkyo's line-up that offers all the features I want in a receiver including HDMI 1.3 inputs, HD audio processing, Audyssey room equalization and pre-amp outputs. With its solid feature set and reasonable price, I was excited to see how the TX-SR706 would perform.

Receivers

Earthquake Sound iQuake IQ-52B iPod Dock

John E. Johnson, Jr.

There are plenty of iPod Docks out there for you to plug in your iPod and listen to your music using speakers instead of earphones. Some of them are very inexpensive and others somewhat more, but what sets the Earthquake Sound iQuake IQ-52B apart from the rest are its sound quality and features. Read our review to see how flexible this little package really is.

Portable Audio

Denon AVR-5308C1 7.1 A/V Receiver

Piero Gabucci

When Denon finally made good on their promise to deliver to market a separate processor/amplifier, (the AVP-A1HDCI and POA-A1HDCI) I wondered where the receivers at the top would fit in.  The last flagship receiver I'd reviewed was the AVR-5805 in May of 2005 and I wished it was in two components. But there are those that still want one box, saving space, wires and some money too.Now that the pre/pro/amp is out, the receivers can be downsized, thankfully. The new AVR-5308CI weighs 35 pounds less and stands 3 inches shorter than its predecessor 5805.  But feature-wise, the 5308 is substantially ahead of the 5805, which is why it's here for me to review.

Receivers

SVSound PB-12 Plus Subwoofer

Chris Eberle

In today's economy, good value in audio is more important than ever. To that end SVSound (SVS) has created a line of subwoofers that address every possible need in home theater and music listening without breaking the budget. I recently spent some quality time with their big box model, the PB12-Plus. This superbly-built sub includes quality amplification, a sweet-sounding 12-inch driver and plenty of adjustability. I would venture to say that most bass issues can be resolved with the PB12's tuning and EQ controls.

Subwoofers

Theta Generation VIII Series 2 Digital-to-Analog Converter/Preamp

Jason Victor Serinus

Many moons ago, in March 2003, Secrets published one of the first reviews of Theta's then state-of-the-art two-channel DAC/preamp, the Generation VIII (aka Gen. VIII). Close to six years later, after umpteen advances in digital chip technology, Theta has released a significant, Series 2 upgrade to the original Gen. VIII. The upgrade, which can either be easily installed at home or purchased as part of a new unit, renders such significant improvements to the sound as to demand a new review.

DACs

Parasound Halo P7 Preamplifier

Rick Schmidt

The Parasound Halo P 7 Preamp is a problem solver. The problem is the gap between home theater systems and hi-end stereo systems. Many home theater buyers are fond of the stereo systems that they already own (and paid big bucks for), those that don't already have a stereo might find that they can afford a lot more two channel gear than 7.1 channel gear and since 90-100% of their music collection is two channel.. well, you get the idea. But unless you are a hifi nut like me, you don't have a room dedicated to the stereo and another dedicated to the home theater.

Preamplifiers

Toshiba XD-E500 DVD Player – Benchmark

Brian Alvarez and Adrian Wittenberg

I can remember a time when Toshiba offered entry level DVD players and also high dollar flagship models like the SD-9200. As DVD players became a commodity Toshiba logically focused on mainstream consumer players much like the XD-E500 reviewed here.  The XD-E500 is a main stream DVD player priced at $99.99 and offering the features a player of this price offers. This includes the obvious DVD playback, the almost universal support amongst new DVD players for DivX playback, Mp3 and WMA.

DVD Players

Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-ray Player – Benchmark

Chris Heinonen and Adrian Wittenberg

The Pioneer BDP-51FD is currently the only non-Elite Blu-ray player that Pioneer offers, but it is far from a budget model. Pioneer has a well deserved reputation for offering high quality DVD players in the past and is certainly trying to continue that tradition with their Blu-ray lineup, even if it means that their lowest end player is priced above that of other manufacturer's models. However, since the release of the BDP-51FD, complaints about its performance has led to multiple firmware updates being released as Pioneer tries to maintain its position as a purveyor of high end electronics. This review examines the player with the latest firmware update applied.

Blu-ray Players

Aperion Audio Intimus 6T-DB Hybrid XD 5.1 Speaker System

Chris Heinonen

When I was just getting started in hi-fi back in college, going to look for a new piece of equipment was both exciting, and annoying. Venturing out with a collection of CD's to evaluate speakers at different shops would often lead to two results: salespeople that would totally ignore me based on my perceived age and income, or salespeople that would try to steer me away from the speakers I could reasonable afford to something far more expensive. In those rare cases that I found a store with a salesperson that actually respected that I wanted a nice set of speakers but did have limited funds and tried to help, I would return there later as my finanaces allowed.

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

MK Sound M-5 5.1 Speaker System

Kieran Coghlan

For years, the letters “M” and “K” have been synonymous with high-quality professional and home audio. Miller and Kreisel, or M&K as the company was known pioneered the satellite + subwoofer speaker system concept. M&K speakers were well known in the entertainment industry as the choice among many big-name professional sound mixing studios, including Dolby Labs, DTS, Lucasfilm, THX, and Sony. Those are some serious bragging rights. But about two years ago, the company was struggling, and ended up going under, as they say. Today, the brand has re-emerged under the name MK Sound. MK Sound has brought back some of the stalwart technologies from M&K, as well as some new products too.

Surround Sound Speaker Systems

Focal XS 2.1 iPod Amplified Speaker Dock

Andrew Yang

The past seven years has seen rapid proliferation of the iPod dock market. Unfortunately, while many of the products have succeeded in following the Apple aesthetic, rarely is there substance behind the flash. Is the entry by Focal merely more eye candy or is there something more compelling? The XS 2.1 distinguishes itself by offering something beyond your typical iPod speaker dock.

Portable Audio

Marantz SR6003 7.1 A/V Receiver

Tyler Stripko

Marantz enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the finer consumer electronics companies in the audio/video industry, with products ranging from affordable home theater receivers to the “audiophile” 2-channel components of their highly regarded Reference Line. They also produce some of the best front projection units in the business. While not being sold at many “big box” retailers, Marantz has continued to thrive by producing quality products and selling them primarily through specialty retailers and custom installers. As I unboxed the SR6003 receiver, I was immediately struck by the desire to like this unit. The elegant curves of the front face panel combined with a readily apparent solid build quality captured my attention.  Did the Marantz SR6003 have the audio/video prowess to match its beauty? Let's find out.

Receivers