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Reviews

McIntosh MVP881 Universal Blu-ray Player

Chris Heinonen

McIntosh is one of the most distinctive, and iconic, brands in all of Hi-Fi. Sporting a look that seemingly has never changed, they are most well known for their two channel amps and preamps, but also have a full line of home theater components as well. The MVP881 is McIntosh's contribution to the world of universal players (CD, DVD-A, and SACD). At $8,000 there is a lot of less expensive alternatives as competition. How did the McIntosh compare? Read on.

Blu-ray Players

Howard Leight Noise-Blocking Stereo Earmuffs

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Most of us use portable players at least now and then to listen to our music, using earbuds. But what if there is a lot of ambient noise, such as on an airplane, or if you are in a Starbucks enjoying a refreshment while you are using your laptop, or if you are playing in a band and want to hear not only your own instrument (in my case, it is the drums), but the other musicians and a click track, while the audience is nearly as loud as you are? Noise-reducing over-the-ear headphones are the answer, and the unit reviewed here, the Howard Leight Sync Noise-Blocking Stereo Earmuffs are an inexpensive and very effective solution.

Headphone and Earphone Reviews

Parasound New Classic 5250v.2 Multi-Channel Power Amplifier

Jared Rachwalski

Parasound builds many audio products such as amps, tuners, preamps, and products for custom installations. As well their products can be found in many movie studios, including Lucasfilm and Pixar, you can even see their name in the credits for Star Wars. As well they are known for their highly regarded stereo products designed by John Curl. Their New Classic line has been around for many years and Parasound has released an updated five channel amplifier from this line, named the 5250v.2 which is a powerful and rugged THX Ultra-2 Five channel amplifier.

Power Amplifiers

PS Audio PerfectWave Disc Transport

Jason Victor Serinus

I was in a bind. CD and product reviews were due at multiple publications, and my Theta Carmen II transport's drive mechanism had failed. I may have bought the used unit directly from Theta Digital's founder and former owner, Neil Sinclair, but that couldn't change the fact that the Carmen II's defective drive was long out of production. With no spare parts available in at Theta's Southern California headquarters, I was in trouble. Paul McGowan came to my rescue by sending a PS Audio PerfectWave Disc Transport. And, wow, does this thing transport.

CD Transports

Clearaudio Concept Turntable

Chris Heinonen

Recently in reviews, I've talked about the Loudness Wars that have infected many modern recordings and how music that I enjoy is rendered almost unlistenable by a bad recording. I imagine it might surprise many people to learn that most releases on vinyl require a different mastering technique than the digital release of the same album, and so many of the flaws of the digital master won't be present on the vinyl release. I tested the Clearaudio Concept Turntable with some modern albums recorded digitally and released on CD as well as Vinyl to prove my point.

TurntablesTurntables

Concept Phono Cartridge

Chris Heinonen

Recently in reviews, I've talked about the Loudness Wars that have infected many modern recordings and how music that I enjoy is rendered almost unlistenable by a bad recording. I imagine it might surprise many people to learn that most releases on vinyl require a different mastering technique than the digital release of the same album, and so many of the flaws of the digital master won't be present on the vinyl release. I tested the Clearaudio Concept Turntable with some modern albums recorded digitally and released on CD as well as Vinyl to prove my point.

Turntable AccessoriesVinyl Accessories

KEF Q300 Bookshelf Speakers

Jim Clements

KEF recently introduced an all new Uni-Q driver. The Q300's are the largest bookshelf models in the "All New Q Series" speaker line. Will KEF be able to further their reputation as a high value brand with the all-new Q300's?

Bookshelf Speakers

Pass Labs XP-20 Stereo Preamplifier

John E. Johnson, Jr.

After having tested a Pass power amplifier and phono preamplifier, I could not wait to get my hands on a preamplifier, to complete the system analysis. The subject of this review is the venerable XP-20, which has been in the Pass inventory since 2009. It's a fully balanced design, with separate power supply chassis for low noise. The bench test results were quite surprising. Read on to see for yourselves.

Preamplifiers

B&W CM8 Tower Speakers

Brian Alvarez

Bowers and Wilkins (B&W) recently made the bold move to sell their products through Magnolia and Best Buy. Adding big box retailers in addition to specialty retailers is quite a step from a brand surround by "audiophile" credentials. Few speakers have as much universal respect as B&W speakers. One of their new models is the CM8 Floor-stander (tower), which is reviewed here.

Floor Standing Speakers

Yamaha RX-A2000 7.1 A/V Receiver

Kieran Coghlan

I've been using a Yamaha receiver in my home theater for well over a decade. The fact that I've been happy with the sound from this receiver for so long though, speaks volumes for the quality Yamaha built into their receivers back then. Although I have reviewed one of their entry-level receivers, I decided it was time to take a look at one of their better, current offerings, the RX-A2000 to see how far they have advanced in the past decade.

Receivers

Comects Neptune 4 x 2 HDMI Matrix Switcher

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Comects is a Hong Kong-based company that makes A/V accessories, including switchers. We have reviewed a few of their products, and at this point, I had stopped reviewing HDMI switchers because most receivers and processors have HDMI input switching built-in. However, the Comects Neptune 4x2 HDMI switcher is unique, in that it has four inputs and two outputs, and you can route any of the four inputs to either of the two outputs, simultaneously (meaning that it is called a "matrix" switcher). So, for example, if you have a satellite box, Blu-ray player, and media server in your home theater, and you also have an HDTV in an adjacent room, you can route the Blu-ray player to the receiver (which forwards the video to your HDTV or projector) in your home theater, while the satellite box or media server is routed to the HDTV in the adjacent room.

Switchers

Anthem MRX 700 7.1 A/V Receiver

Robert Kozel

Anthem has long been recognized as a leading manufacturer of processors and amplifiers. Anthem's AVM series processors have always offered a tremendous blend of functionality and performance. With the introduction of the Anthem Room Correction (ARC) system, Anthem took things a step further by offering one of the finest room correction systems on the market. While all of this capability and performance was available to those with the budget and space for separates, Anthem did not offer a solution for those looking for an A/V receiver - until now. The Anthem MRX 700 is the subject of this review.

Receivers

NuForce NE-700X Earbuds

John E. Johnson, Jr.

NuForce is a small company that has recently become quite visible due to their special editions of the venerable OPPO Universal Players. But, they also make their own products, including DACs and earbuds. The latter, namely the NuForce NE-700X earbuds, are reviewed here. They are inexpensive, fit in the ear canal in the most comfortable way I have ever experienced, and have low distortion. The price? $65.

Headphone and Earphone Reviews