June/July 2021

Sound & Vision

Authoritative information on entertainment technologies and products.

Sound & Vision1 min read
Sound & Vision
EDITOR: Al Griffin SENIOR EDITOR, TECHNICAL EDITOR: Tom Norton EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Bob Ankosko CONTRIBUTING TECHNICAL EDITORS: Kris Deering, Barb Gonzalez, Michael P. Hamilton, Howard Kneller, Daniel Kumin, Rob Sabin, John Sciacca, Michael Trei, David V
Sound & Vision3 min read
Back to Basics
YES, IT HAD TO BE DONE. Consider it a form of spring cleaning. The “it” is in this case is a streaming service—HBO Max to be specific—that I decided to drop. My video streaming plate had become over-filled during the pandemic as I spent much of my fr
Sound & Vision7 min readTechnology & Engineering
Letters
I was very intrigued after reading a review of the Kaleidescape Strato S movie player in the October/November 2020 issue of Sound & Vision magazine and ended up buying a unit. The Strato S can be installed without professional help, which saved me a
Sound & Vision4 min readTechnology & Engineering
Sonos Roam Portable Wireless Speaker
When a company known for inventing the multiroom speaker announces a new fully portable model, we sit up and take notice. The new Sonos Roam ($169) is an ultra-compact, IP67 water- and dust-proof smart speaker that weighs less than one pound and link
Sound & Vision3 min readComputers
Cleer Crescent Wireless Smart Speaker
“Aladdin’s lamp” popped into my head as I lifted the 12-pound Crescent speaker out of its box. Between its champagne finish and arcing profile, it’s a distinctive design you’ll either love or hate. My wife cringed when she saw it sitting on the cabin
Sound & Vision3 min readComputers
Evolution Of The App
PART 2 My previous column in the April/May issue covered ways to control both a modern A/V system and a smart home using various manufacturer-supplied apps. With smartphone and tablet use now widespread, and smart devices capable of being controlled
Sound & Vision3 min readAutomotive
Thank You, Jay Homel
Hey man, I wanted to give you a shout-out. I really appreciate your kind words. Your comments jogged some memories, and I wanted to share them with you. I don’t have your contact information, so I guess I’ll instead just use this public forum. The Fe
Sound & Vision10 min read
When I Paint My 5.1 Masterpiece
WHENEVER WE TALK about artists who changed the course of rock history who aren’t The Beatles, one group with perhaps the most unassuming yet wholly appropriate name tops the bill: The Band. Their homespun July 1968 debut Music From Big Pink literally
Sound & Vision21 min read
Noise-canceling True Wireless Earbuds
WHAT THE WORLD needs now is active noise-canceling (ANC) true wireless earbuds. ANC buds meet the needs of the moment by providing a way to boost audio quality during Zoom calls while simultaneously isolating us against intrusive environmental factor
Sound & Vision4 min readComputers
Tidal Troubles
Q I have used computers for 30-plus years but am not a tech-oriented person. My partner and I want to get set up for high-resolution audio, however, and are hoping to use the Tidal service for better-than-CD-quality streaming. (We mainly listen to vi
Sound & Vision3 min read
Masterclass Acts
Raise your virtual hand—or rather, your two-finger devil’s horns salute—if you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a rock star. Come on, don’t be shy. At the very least, many of us audiophiles are relatively proficient at playing an instrument or two, know h
Sound & Vision4 min readTechnology & Engineering
A Garden Oasis In The Heart Of Pittsburgh
NESTLED IN Pittsburgh’s North Side is a beautifully renovated row house with four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, and three outdoor entertainment spaces, including two private balconies offering stunning views of the City of Bridges’ skyline. As cool
Sound & Vision10 min read
A Home Theater Dream Come True
FOR MICHAEL MEEKER, the road to A/V paradise was long and circuitous but also immensely rewarding as he experimented his way from cobbling together a crude setup almost 30 years ago to building the theater of his dreams—one most of us would die for.
Sound & Vision8 min readTechnology & Engineering
Smart Cinema
RATING PERFORMANCE FEATURES ERGONOMICS VALUE AS THE “Smart TV” has become the norm, projectors in contrast have remained steadfastly dumb. For many home theater enthusiasts, that arrangement has worked out just fine, with streaming, voice control, an
Sound & Vision2 min readScience & Mathematics
Test Bench
FULL-ON/FULL-OFF CONTRAST RATIO: 3,225:1 The measurements here were made using Calman measurement software from Portrait Displays (www.portrait.com), together with a Photo Research PR-650 color meter, Minolta LS-100 luminance meter and a Murideo/AVPr
Sound & Vision8 min readTechnology & Engineering
The Wireless Meta-verse
PERFORMANCE BUILD QUALITY ERGONOMICS VALUE WE LIVE now in wireless world, and the major loudspeaker-makers have been quick to embrace it with serious-performance, near-full-range designs. But each seems to have a different idea of what a “wireless sp
Sound & Vision1 min readTechnology & Engineering
Test Bench
I conducted several in-room measurements using the Parts Express Omnimic measuring software and microphone, a $300 package that offers a usefully accurate response of a speaker at the main listening seat. The results shown here are for my room. All w
Sound & Vision3 min read
Soul
RATING Pixar O.G. and now Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter touched our hearts with Up, then plumbed the intricacies of the human mind in Inside Out. It would follow, then, that his next movie would be Soul. Together, these are arguably the most gro
Sound & Vision7 min readTechnology & Engineering
The Dynamic Duo
SB-1000 Pro PERFORMANCE FEATURES BUILD QUALITY VALUE RATINGS PB-1000 Pro PERFORMANCE FEATURES BUILD QUALITY VALUE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES tend to debut in more expensive goods so that companies can recoup their research and development costs. Take Me
Sound & Vision10 min read
Luminous Surround
Speakers PERFORMANCE BUILD QUALITY VALUE Subwoofer PERFORMANCE FEATURES BUILD QUALITY VALUE LOUDSPEAKER MANUFACTURER Sonus faber was founded in the early 1980s by the late Franco Serblin in Vicenza, Italy. It’s been known since then for offering supe
Sound & Vision9 min read
The Best, For Less
RATINGS Speakers PERFORMANCE BUILD QUALITY VALUE BACK IN 2019, Polk Audio rolled out its Legend series speakers. For a brand known to maintain a laser-like focus on value, the Legends, with their finely constructed cabinets (featuring real wood venee
Sound & Vision2 min read
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice Ultimate Edition (remastered)
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LEGEND HAS IT that director Zack Snyder was streaming his Dawn of Justice one day and was unhappy with the color, specifically red, a shade relevant to much more than a certain Last Son of Krypton. And so, the studio took the unusual
Sound & Vision2 min read
News Of The World
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY IT CAN BE taken for granted that if Tom Hanks is starring in a movie, we will become acquainted with a compelling lead character. Also, if Paul Greengrass is directing, it will be an exciting ride. Following the South’s loss in the C
Sound & Vision2 min read
Gattaca
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY GATTACA tells the story of a future where genetically engineered humans are provided all the benefits of an advanced civilization while those that are genetically inferior are relegated to more menial jobs and not afforded the same o
Sound & Vision2 min read
SECRETS & LIES
BLU-RAY AS A KID in England in the late 1970s, I loathed director Mike Leigh’s BBC TV dramas about what seemed like the drab lives of dull, ordinary people because they lacked the glamour and drive of Hollywood classics. Years later, I became enthral
Sound & Vision2 min read
Godzilla
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY AS THE first film to launch the MonsterVerse, a “cinematic universe” featuring enduring monster movie icons, this 2014 reboot of the Godzilla franchise set the template for several movies to come, including Kong: Skull Island and the
Sound & Vision4 min read
Year Of The Cat: 45th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
AL STEWART is the kind of seasoned artist known for being well worth the wait. The Scottish-born and London-bred Stewart initially focused on mining a folk-driven vein when he made his debut with October 1967’s orchestrally buttressed Bed Sitter Imag
Sound & Vision2 min read
Zappa
BLU-RAY THE MODERN-DAY composer died way too young. Frank Zappa was only 52 when he passed away from prostate cancer in December 1993, but his recorded legacy continues to cast a long shadow over music to this day—and will continue to do so well beyo
Sound & Vision3 min read
ELTON JOHN: GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD Going Back to the Plough
ELTON JOHN WAS IN THE ZONE. The piano prodigy and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin were in the midst of an almost decade-long creative mindmeld, and October 1973’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was the apex of their collaboration. The initially unin

Sound & Vision

More Issues From Sound & Vision